Associated Press
ANACORTES — The Washington State Patrol has stepped up its inspection of fuel tankers traveling on state ferries after a random check of a truck here found high levels of hazardous fumes.
The truck driver was cited May 8 for hauling tanks with fuel vapors above the legal limit for ferry traffic, said patrol Lt. Richard Wiley. The truck was inspected after it unloaded the diesel fuel it had been carrying, Wiley said.
As a result, the patrol has increased tanker inspections.
"Right now we’re shooting for all trucks," Wiley told the Skagit Valley Herald. "When we’re no longer finding problems, we’ll probably back off from that schedule."
Trucks hauling gasoline to the San Juan Islands cannot take the ferry, but must instead ride on a barge. They can return empty on the ferry, so long as they do not have hazardous levels of residual fumes.
Diesel tankers can ride both ways on the ferries, because diesel fuel is less likely to ignite.
The truck belonged to a fuel company in Bellingham, which can challenge the misdemeanor citation.
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