# PHMSA Hazmat Incident I-1976040747 — VINYL ACETATE, STABILIZED — BLUFFS, IL

**Citation:** PHMSA Hazmat Incident I-1976040747  
**Type / status:** incident / historical  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** 1976-04-22  
**Published:** Not stated

Serious reporter-submitted hazardous materials transportation incident on 1976-04-22 in BLUFFS, IL.

## Document text

PHMSA hazardous materials incident report I-1976040747.
Incident date: 1976-04-22.
Location: BLUFFS, IL.
Mode: Rail.
Carrier/reporter: NORFOLK & WESTERN RAILWAY CO.
Shipper: NATIONAL STARCH & CHEMICAL COR.
Materials: UN1301; VINYL ACETATE, STABILIZED; hazard class 3; 168 LGA released.
What failed: Auxiliary Valve; Piping or Fittings.
Reported failure causes: Loose Closure, Component, or Device.
Reported result: Spillage.
Reporter-submitted DOT Form 5800.1 data may be incomplete, corrected, supplemented, or misreported. A record, serious-incident classification, failure description, or relationship to a reporting rule is not a PHMSA causal finding, compliance determination, or finding of a violation.

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/PDFGenerator/getPublicReport/OHMIR_5800-1-PUBLIC?INCIDENTID=axYSyXYImCH1zUzdizvV5g%3D%3D>
- Source ID: `phmsa-hazmat-incidents`
- SHA-256: `a4db5763a81c55aebac190fbe822e7442f17a579e45ea3c811282478001cc67f`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-13T12:55:56.545Z
- Exported: 2026-08-25T08:09:22.099Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-hazmat-incident-i-1976040747`

### Source metadata

```json
{
  "materialSubtype": "phmsa_hazmat_serious_incident",
  "reportNumber": "I-1976040747",
  "operatorReported": true,
  "serious": true,
  "finalAgencyFinding": false,
  "eventDescriptionExcluded": true,
  "publicPdfUrl": "https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/PDFGenerator/getPublicReport/OHMIR_5800-1-PUBLIC?INCIDENTID=axYSyXYImCH1zUzdizvV5g%3D%3D",
  "rowCount": 1,
  "carrierReporterNames": [
    "NORFOLK & WESTERN RAILWAY CO"
  ],
  "shipperNames": [
    "NATIONAL STARCH & CHEMICAL COR"
  ],
  "routes": [],
  "cities": [
    "BLUFFS"
  ],
  "states": [
    "IL"
  ],
  "originCities": [
    "STRANG"
  ],
  "modes": [
    "Rail"
  ],
  "materials": [
    {
      "identificationNumber": "UN1301",
      "commodityName": "VINYL ACETATE, STABILIZED",
      "hazardousClass": "3",
      "quantityReleased": "168",
      "unitOfMeasure": "LGA"
    }
  ],
  "packages": [
    {
      "identificationMarkings": null,
      "outerMaterial": null,
      "outerType": null,
      "outerCapacity": "0",
      "outerCapacityUnit": "LGA",
      "outerShipmentCount": "1",
      "outerFailedCount": "1",
      "innerMaterial": null,
      "innerType": null,
      "innerCapacity": "0",
      "innerCapacityUnit": null,
      "innerShipmentCount": "0",
      "innerFailedCount": "0"
    }
  ],
  "reportingRuleContext": [
    "171.15",
    "171.16"
  ],
  "caveat": "Reporter-submitted DOT Form 5800.1 data may be incomplete, corrected, supplemented, or misreported. A record, serious-incident classification, failure description, or relationship to a reporting rule is not a PHMSA causal finding, compliance determination, or finding of a violation.",
  "privacyCaveat": "The public CSV excludes preparer contact fields. Event Description is intentionally excluded from normalized records and search output to reduce incidental personal-information risk.",
  "jurisdiction": "US"
}
```