DONALDSONVILLE, La. — No injuries were reported when 17 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed today (Friday, Oct. 18) in Donaldsonville, leading to a spill of what is described as a non-hazardous chemical.
The derailment occurred about 7:30 a.m. A railroad representative told WBRZ-TV that cyanuric acid, used in herbicides and chlorine bleach, was spilled from three tank cars. Commander Cody Melancon with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said there was “a white power substance on the ground that is non-hazardous, used to make medicine,” the station reported, and said other cars on the train carried propylene, sulfuric acid, and refrigerated oxygen..
A grade crossing on State Routes 70 and 3098, initially closed as a result of the derailment, was reopened as of this evening, WDSU-TV reports.
Donaldsonville is about 65 miles west of New Orleans on UP’s Livonia Subdivision.
