(The following report appeared at Local12.com on July 18.)
CINCINNATI — Emergency crews are busy cleaning up a chemical spill at the CSX rail yard.
Crews were called to Spring Grove Avenue in Camp Washington just after 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning after crews at the railyard saw a cloud of smoke come from a tanker carrying hydrochloric acid. Rail cars coming into the yard go over a hump and then hit a retarder wall which is supposed to slow them down. Workers say they saw the cloud of fumes escape the tanker when it hit the retarding wall. The tanker is carrying 192,000 pounds of hydrochloric acid.
The area is not heavily populated and because the tanker is in the middle of the rail yard, the only people had to be evacuated were the workers. A number of streets around the Hopple Street Viaduct are also shut down but officials tell us there is no danger to the public. They also believe the tanker is no longer leaking any chemicals.
Hydrochloric acid is a powerful chemical that can cause lung damage if inhaled in large amounts.
A Hazardous Materials unit from Dayton is now on the scene is suiting up and getting ready to assess the situation. Officials have fixed a 500 foot perimeter around tanker.
Commuters headed toward I-75 should try to take the Western Hills Viaduct, or go further north and pick up 75 where it meets with I-74 near Colerain.