(The following article by Micah Sturr was posted on the Laramie Boomerang website on December 16.)
LARAMIE, Wyo. — Eight railroad cars from a Union Pacific train derailed at the Laramie train yard Thursday night. No one was injured in the derailment and no hazardous materials leaked.
“We do not even tolerate one wheel on the ground, much less eight cars. It’s something that we’re very serious in determining the cause on because this helps in overall safety efforts in reducing derailments and possible injuries,” Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said.
The cause of the derailment is still under investigation by Union Pacific.
Four of the cars carried phosphoric acid. The others carried steel and dirt. None of the cars carrying phosphoric acid ruptured.
Phosphoric acid is used as a rust remover and in soda pop.
“There’s nothing really sinister about it.” University of Wyoming chemist John Hoberg said. “It’s all over in our bodies. Every living cell has phosphates in it.”
Hoberg said a spill wouldn’t have necessitated an evacuation.
According to Davis, the absence of a spill or injury doesn’t necessitate an immediate phone call to local emergency responders, either.
“It falls under protocol. If there are no injuries or leaks then emergency responders go on the second tier of the phone tree as a courtesy call,” Davis said.
The Laramie Fire Department was notified of the derailment about 11 p.m., Laramie Fire Department Division Chief Rick Jansen said. The train derailed at about 10 p.m., Davis said.
Union Pacific employees are trained in their specific jobs and hazardous waste procedures, Davis said. Crews on site make the decisions about health and safety.
“Our employees go through hazardous materials training and they know if there are any safety issues, whether it be employee or public, or if they have any questions at all, they would notify our railroad police dispatch who in turn would notify local emergency responders,” Davis said.
According to Laramie Police Department Commander Dale Stalder, dispatch received an anonymous call about the derailment prior to contact from Union Pacific. However, the information given was too vague for an effective response, Stalder said.
By the time fire department personnel were notified and arrived at the railroad yard, a Union Pacific representative from Cheyenne was on site, Jansen said. After assessing the situation and determining that no public health hazard was posed, firefighters left.
“Because there was no breach on this one, it’s now up to U.P. to take care of it,” Jansen said. “U.P. has the resources to work with these kinds of things.”
Union Pacific righted the derailed cars, none of which toppled to the ground, by Friday afternoon and the rail yard operations returned to normal. The derailment didn’t hinder other railroad traffic through Laramie, Davis said.
As investigation into the cause continues, Davis said there are four categories that derailments fall under: human error, track conditions, mechanical factors including locomotives and cars, and other factors including weather or vandalism.
The train was enroute between Green River and Denver.