Most of the ethanol that is mixed with gasoline in Massachusetts enters the state by ship or fuel truck, but that will change next year when Global Petroleum Corp. begins shipping ethanol to its blending terminal in Revere by 60-car trains. With each car carrying 29,000 gallons of nearly pure ethanol, the two trains a week will bring in nearly 3.6 million gallons.

The staggering volume of ethanol coming in by rail has inspired a flurry of state, local, and company safety preparations. Transport by train is more cost-effective and statistically safer than by truck, but the sheer scale of an ethanol train disaster is so much greater than an accident with a fuel truck that it has rattled Revere, where companies have handled millions of gallons of explosive fuels since the 1930s.

The ethanol trains will run from Global’s terminal in Albany, NY through northern Massachusetts to the Fitchburg/Ayer commuter rail line, skirting around Walden Pond in Concord and on to Boston. The trains will switch lines in Charlestown and continue north along the Newburyport/Rockport commuter line through Everett and Chelsea and into Revere.

The trains will roll only after renovations to Global’s facility and the rail spur that once connected it to the main rail line. Global presented plans for its renovations and their impact on nearby wetlands at two public hearings this spring before the Revere Conservation Commission, which approved the work despite safety concerns raised by environmental groups and concerned citizens.

Community members, like “Guida” Rita Falzarano, feared that the three-and-a-half car spill containment system Global described wouldn’t stop a large spill. “What happens if five cars spill?” Falzarano asked. “The system fails.”

The activists also worried about a train derailment outside of Global’s property along the rail line. Ethanol fires require special equipment and training to fight effectively, raising concerns about whether local fire departments are prepared to deal with several train cars of burning ethanol. 

Officials at Global did not return calls seeking comment on the ethanol trains or their planned renovations.

Ethanol is mixed into gasoline as part of a federal effort to reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption. Most of the country’s ethanol is made in the Midwest and shipped to the rest of the country, with about 70 percent  delivered by train. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection estimates that an ethanol train passes through Massachusetts two or three times each week, but Global’s trains would be the first with a final destination inside the state.

Ethanol is an alcohol and behaves differently than gasoline and other petroleum-based fuels. It burns with little smoke or flame, making it difficult to detect. It also dissolves in water, unlike oil or gasoline, which float on top. That makes ethanol difficult to remove if spilled into a creek or groundwater source. It also means that water will spread rather than douse an ethanol fire because ethanol is still flammable when diluted with four times its volume of water.

An ethanol fire requires special alcohol-resistant fire-fighting foam. If ethanol spills and doesn’t catch fire, it can suffocate aquatic life or biodegrade into methane in soil. Methane can pose a new explosion hazard weeks or months after a spill.

The Department of Environmental Protection recently completed a report on ethanol and how to deal with it in the event of a spill. The report is the first single comprehensive source of information about ethanol spills, according to Ken Kimmel, commissioner of the agency. Kimmel called the study “a risk prevention measure in and of itself,” since the information will promote appropriate responses to ethanol spills.

Fire departments are preparing for the special challenges of ethanol fires. The state’s Department of Fire Services is designing an ethanol-specific training program for new and current firefighters, said Revere Fire Chief Gene Doherty. Doherty also said that the 38 communities in the Boston Harbor area are conducting a “foam survey” to coordinate their resources. The communities have mutual aid agreements under which any fire department can call on nearby communities for additional foam, trucks, or firefighters.

Doherty said Global has been working with him for months to prepare for the arrival of ethanol trains. He said the company has gone beyond what it is legally required, agreeing to provide 500 gallons of alcohol-resistant foam to the Revere Fire Department, install cameras to monitor ethanol cars waiting to unload, and upgrade Revere’s, Chelsea’s, and Everett’s foam carriers into foam sprayers, all at Global’s cost. The company will also provide ethanol to burn during training exercises.

Chief Doherty chuckled when asked if he was comfortable with ethanol trains coming into the community. “I have more fear of tank trucks coming in than I do with the rail,” he said, noting the train tracks generally are farther from homes and neighborhoods. Public safety agencies are doing all they can to prepare, he said, but acknowledged there is always the possibility of a catastrophic accident. “We can never, probably, truly prepare.”