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 3,000
evacuated after train cars leak acid
USA
-- Over three thousand people were evacuated after a train derailed in
Lafayette, Louisiana, releasing approximately 8,000 to 10,000 gallons of
hydrochloric acid - a toxic chemical. Authorities say two of the railroad cars
leaked hydrochloric acid. Eye-witnesses say the spill formed a yellowish pool.
Everybody who lived within a mile of the derailment have been taken to a school
outside the city. Authorities say they
will not be able to go home for at least 48 hours. 160 people were evacuated
from a nursing home.
Five people, including two railway workers were taken to hospital after the
spill sent a toxic cloud over the area. The patients had skin and eye
irritation, according to Lt. Craig Stansbury, Lafayette's Parish Sheriff.
 Another
wagon, carrying ethylene oxide was overturned, but reports indicate it did not
spill. Ethylene oxide is used in agricultural products, and is also a sterilizer
for medical supplies.
Acadian Ambulance official Clay Henry said 20 bed-bound residents of the Our
Lady of the Oaks nursing home taken to a hospital.
Police walked door-to-door notifying residents of the mandatory evacuation in an
area with an estimated population of 3,500 people. "We're advising
them to take enough supplies for approximately 48 hours," Stansbury said.
Mona
Hebert and Jeffrey Ferrara said they were rousted from their trailer around 3:45
a.m. and told they had two minutes to leave. Ferrara, who lost his home in
Hurricane Katrina and has been staying with friends like Hebert since then,
didn't have time to grab his shoes or any of his medications.
"This
is gravy compared to" Katrina, Ferrara said, adding that the morning air smelled
of chlorine, like a swimming pool.
 Faust
said BNSF was sending lime to the area to neutralize the hydrochloric acid. He
declined to speculate on how long the cleanup might take but said residents
wouldn't be allowed back into the area until officials were certain the
hazardous material was gone.
"We
want to make sure that they're not returning home prematurely," Faust said. "We
want to make sure the entire area is clean."
According
to state police, as of 7:30 Monday morning, DEQ has reduced the evacuation area
to 200 feet. Ambassador Caffery Bridge will remain closed until DOTD can safely
inspect the integrity of the bridge. At 6:30 Sunday evening, Louisiana State
Police and local agencies reduced the evacuated area to 1000 feet. All residents
were also allowed to return home.
Authorities reopened Interstate 10 late Saturday night and both overturned rail
cars are now upright. I-10 was closed for about two hours Saturday night while
crews worked to right the railcar so the hazardous chemicals can safely be
removed from the area.
Emergency
responders for the Department of Environmental Quality continue to take air
samples and assist in the cleanup efforts after the rail cars derailed. On
Saturday night, crews removed an ethylene oxide tank car. All other five
railcars have been set upright. One car containing hydrochloric acid spilled an
estimated 10,000 gallons. The car leaking acid was directly in front of the car
containing the ethylene oxide. Authorities say if the two chemicals were to come
in contact with one another, an explosion could have resulted.
Police
walked door-to-door yesterday to notify residents of the mandatory evacuation.
Residents of an area nursing home and a mental health facility were also forced
to leave. The nursing home evacuations were accomplished without any trouble,
said Department of Health and Hospital Secretary Alan Levine.
An
estimated 3,500 people live in the area, and residents were told to prepare for
up to two days away from home, said Lt. Craig Stansbury, a spokesman for the
Lafayette Parish sheriff's office. "We're advising them to take enough supplies
for approximately 48 hours," he said. The acid spill sent a cloud over the area,
and at least five people, including two railroad workers, were taken to a
hospital and treated after complaining of skin and eye irritation, Stansbury
said. Officials said they didn't know what caused the derailment, which happened
around 1:30 Saturday morning.
Hydrochloric Acid Spill Danger
In
high concentrations it forms an acidic mist. Both the mist and the solution have
a corrosive effect on human tissue. Hydrochloric acid can damage our respiratory
organs, as well as our eyes, skin and intestines.
The
Environmental Protection Agency rates and regulates hydrochloric acid as a
toxin.
Hydrochloric acid used to be known as "Muriatic acid" - the term is still used,
but rarely.
Hydrochloric acid can cause respiratory problems and skin and eye irritation,
according to Joe Faust, a spokesman for Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF Railway,
which operated the train involved in the spill. The acid formed a yellowish pool
at the site of the derailment, and a train car carrying ethylene oxide, which is
used in agricultural products and as a sterilizer for medical supplies, was
overturned into the spill. The car with the ethylene oxide was not leaking, said
Rodney Mallett, a spokesman with the Louisiana Department of Environmental
Quality.
The Red
Cross set up a shelter at a high school in the city of Carencro, which is about
seven miles north of Lafayette. It was gearing up to handle as many as 500
people, if necessary, shelter manager Jacqui Picard said. "Cots are all on
standby if we need them," Picard said. "It's a waiting game, mostly." By late
Saturday morning, roughly three dozen displaced people had visited the shelter,
which was offering snacks, drinks and a cool place to stay. One person was seen
napping on the bleachers; volunteers were milling around.
Steve Kulm,
a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, said the agency will
conduct an investigation, which he said is routine in cases involving release of
hazardous materials. BNSF was using lime to neutralize the hydrochloric acid.
After that, cleanup workers will either dig or vacuum up the acid and then lift
the cars back onto the track, Mallett said. Samples of the air near the spill
site haven't raised concerns, he said. Faust declined to speculate on how long
the cleanup might take but said residents wouldn't be allowed back into the area
until officials were certain the hazardous material was gone. "We want to make
sure that they're not returning home prematurely," Faust said. "We want to make
sure the entire area is clean."
DEQ is
currently working with railroad representatives to develop a plan to determine
the extent of contamination and necessary cleanup actions. The railcars are
being cleaned and the site where the hydrochloric acid spilled is being
neutralized with lime. Contractors for the railroad will then dig the
neutralized material up and dispose of it in the proper manner.
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