ST. JAMES PARISH, La. — Residents of all but two homes evacuated after leak of hydrochloric acid were cleared to return home Thursday, a day after a Canadian National derailment that breached a tank car carrying 20,000 gallons of the hazardous material, the Advocate newspaper reports. And the evacuation is expected to be lifted for those two homes today (Friday, Nov. 4).
At the two homes that remained evacuated, some acid from the spill had crossed their fence lines, Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. said, and officials didn’t want residents at home while cleanup was underway and could release more vapor. Hydrochloric acid poses an inhalation threat as well as one from contact.
An updated count determined eight cars of the train derailed Wednesday in the rural Paulina area of St. James Parish, forcing evacuation of about 200 homes [see “CN derailment in Louisiana leads to acid leak …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 2, 2022].
CN said in a statement that its environmental crews were working to neutralize the spill and that the cause of the derailment is under investigation.
The 80+ miles between Baton Rouge and New Orleans has the highest concentration of petrochemical plants in the US. Don’t call it Cancer Alley for nothing.
Track supposed to be Class 3 (good for 40 mph freights) but looks more like Class 2 at best. The trestle over the Bonne Carrie spillway good for only 10 mph. Time bomb waiting to happen with all the chemicals being transported over these tracks. Cut back on track maintenance to give it to the stock holders.
One of these days we’re going to hear a thud (train going off track) followed by a boom (when one or more tank cars explode). After the Toxic cloud clears, you’ll see a giant hole and nothing intact for a quarter mile, and some body parts mixed in.
Another week another big derailment; anyone noticing?