Re: Talk about risky locations..
many years ago one christmas the company I worked for had a real-life experience of a lorry load (around 25 tonnes) of water reactive oxalyl chloride ending up in the Thames at Maidenhead.....
when the fire crew phoned for advice the conversation was on the lines of
"Is this water reactive?"
"Yes"
"How can we tell if it starts reacting with the water?"
"When it explodes. There won't be a warning"
The fire crew sensibly declined the risk of pulling the barrels out of the river.
In the end, someone leant on the Atomic Energy Authority emergency team at Harwell, and their radiation emergency remote handling equipment was used to lift the trailer and drums out. Happily with no leaks or explosions.
That was a real ass-twitching day
Not long after that, Harwell set up the National Chemical Emergency scheme to provide a response team in the event of future similar events.