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Officials: UP chemical accident a learning experience
(The following story by John Lindenberger appeared on The North Platte Telegraph website on November 4, 2009.)
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Concerns over the response to a recent chemical accident at Union Pacific's Bailey Yard has caused railroad officials to reevaluate their protocols for dealing with incidents that involve hazardous materials.
The chemical accident occurred about 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 10, when four cars derailed within Bailey Yard. Three of the cars that derailed were tank cars that had been used to ship liquid chlorine.
Mark Davis, regional director of corporate relations and media for Union Pacific Railroad, said the tank cars did have some chlorine residue but were considered empty.
Davis said a car foreman saw the derailment and evaluated the situation. The foreman determined that the cars were in good shape and that there were no leaks in the tank cars.
"He knows what to look for since he deals with rail cars," Davis added.
He noted the foreman began the process of getting the people and equipment needed to get the cars back on the track. Because there was no chemical spill involved, the North Platte Fire Department was not notified of the incident.
In fact, North Platte Assistant Fire Chief Brian Shay said that they were not contacted by Union Pacific until Oct. 15 - five days after the incident. Local fire officials then went out to Bailey Yard to inspect the cars themselves.
Shay said that while the outer tank did have some damage, there was no damage to the stronger inner tank or the valves. He also noted that there was no sign of a release and that the public was in no danger.
After talking with fire officials about the incident, Davis said Union Pacific will now contact the local fire department as a courtesy and precaution any time there is a derailment that involves a car with hazardous material.
According to Shay, each of the tank cars had between 1,000 and 3,000 gallons of chlorine at the time of the accident. The capacity for a standard pressurized tank car is about 33,500 gallons.
"Chlorine is an inhalation hazard, so it is a pretty dangerous chemical," Shay said. "It is used pretty widely in industry for various things."
He noted the level of danger resulting from a chlorine spill depends upon the amount of chemical that spills. A small leak would result in a very localized hazard while a larger spill could affect the entire community.
"You really don't want to be breathing that stuff in," Shay said.
Had there been any indication of a leak, Davis said the response by Union Pacific would have been much different. He said safety is of the utmost concern, and Union Pacific has a detailed response plan for these types of situations.
"If there was any concern of leakage with this particular incident, it would have been handled in a totally different way," he added. "I can tell you that at no time did our employees in North Platte handle this incident nonchalantly."
Davis said the rail industry is considered one of the safest methods for transporting chemicals that are considered hazardous. In addition, he said Union Pacific is considered a leader in the industry in its hazardous material training.
Union Pacific has also aided in the development of tank car design. Davis said a lot of the testing and precautions done by Union Pacific has helped to bolster the design, reinforcement and safety features for rail cars.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
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November 20, 2009
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