(The following story by Colin McDonald appeared on The Beaumont Enterprise website on August 31.)
BEAUMONT, Texas — Hazardous-materials teams from the Beaumont fire department and BNSF officials worked together at the scene of a train derailment Wednesday behind the Gulf Coast Recycling Center in Beaumont.
A railcar full of liquid potassium hydroxide derailed Wednesday morning near the intersection of Fourth and Cedar streets in Beaumont. No leaks were found, but area businesses were evacuated and nearby roads were closed for most of the morning.
Joel Alaniz was working at Gulf Coast Recycling at 9 a.m. when the accident occurred. The recycling center backs up to the railroad tracks, and trains pass several times a day.
“I did not hear anything,” he said of the crash. “But suddenly the train stopped moving.”
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe train was traveling west at 12 mph when the accident occurred, said Joe Faust, spokesperson for BNSF Railway. Of the train’s 29 cars, six jumped the tracks; the only one landing on its side was the one with the potassium hydroxide.
Potassium hydroxide is commonly used in detergents, the manufacturing of paper and in the production of biodiesel. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the chemical is corrosive and is toxic when inhaled. It also can cause burning and blindness after coming into contact with the skin or eyes.
Beaumont police and fire department personnel responded to the incident, with the police blockading the roads and the fire department sending in its hazardous materials team to inspect for leaks.
When no leaks were found, the railway was allowed to remove the unclipped cars from the tracks and send in crews to work on righting the flipped and damaged cars.
Police spokesperson Carman Apple said the railcars were to be inspected again for leaks once they were righted and before they could be moved.
Apple and Faust said the cause of the derailment is under investigation.
According to the Federal Railroad Commission, Jefferson County has had more than 71 train derailments in the past five years.
According to the EPA, Southeast Texas is a national leader in the production of petrochemicals.
Because railcars are one of the safest and most economical ways to transport large amounts of chemicals, most are transported that way, Faust said.
For Alaniz, who said he has worked at Gulf Coast Recycling for 27 years, that can sometimes make it difficult to do business. Whenever there is an accident – such as the one on Wednesday – there is little he can do.
“Just close everything and send everyone home,” he said.