(The following report by Mac Daniel appeared on the Boston Globe website on April 15.)
BOSTON — A railroad tanker car that started leaking hydrochloric acid just yards from the Orange Line’s Sullivan Station in Charlestown yesterday morning turned the evening commute chaotic for thousands of rail and subway riders, who were forced to take detours home to avoid the cleanup of the hazardous material.
The 49-foot tanker carrying 20,000 gallons of the highly toxic acid was reported leaking a visible plume of acidic mist just before 9:30 a.m. The leak was first noticed as the train sat idle along a freight line adjacent to the Orange Line station and yards from a dense neighborhood of three-decker houses near the Somerville-Charlestown line off Cambridge Street, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Scott Salman. The train was also yards from the southbound lanes of the interstate. Sullivan Station was ordered closed at about 10 a.m., forcing subway passengers to use bus shuttles to bypass the cleanup. It was the first time in recent years that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority had shut down a rapid-transit line and two commuter rail lines simultaneously for the better part of a day.
“These were extraordinary circumstances,” said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo, adding that it was not clear when service on the lines would be restored.
Pesaturo said late last night that the MBTA was working on a contingency plan to put into place for this morning’s commute.
“At this point, it’s still up in the air, so we are preparing for the situation,” he said. “The good news is for the morning plan, the customers would still go to the regular stations and go as far south before transferring to a bus. This is not set in stone.”
Pesaturo said that as soon as the MBTA gets the green light from the Boston Fire Department to open the station, the information would be broadcast on all media outlets and posted on the MBTA’s web site, www.mbta.com.
The leak was temporarily patched late yesterday by crews from Clean Harbors, a company that cleans up hazardous materials, and the hydrochloric acid was loaded to another tanker, a process that officials predicted would take until midnight.
Late yesterday afternoon, officials were confident the transfer of the liquid would go smoothly.
“We got lucky,” Boston Fire Department spokesman Richard Powers said.
Four nearby homes were ordered evacuated after the leak was discovered and other nearby residents were told they could voluntarily leave if they did not feel safe. No injuries were reported.
Salman said three, quarter-sized holes were found in the bottom of the tanker, all apparently the result of the acid burning through the rail car’s rubber and metal lining.
“It’s a nasty substance,” said Boston Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Dunbar, who added that he was unsure how the original leak occurred. “It appears to have eaten right through the tanker.”
The holes in the tanker got larger during the day, Dunbar said. Initial fears about the tanker prompted the State Police to close the northbound and southbound Sullivan Square exits off Interstate 93, which officials said were reopened around noon.
The impact of the transportation changes was felt most acutely by northbound rail and subway commuters. At Lechmere Station, two of the detours converged, resulting in crowds of commuters rushing toward the open doors of buses that were taking passengers from the station. An MBTA official in an orange vest tried to control the crowd, directing passengers to the buses.
One commuter, Jason Brooks, 27, of Burlington, said it seemed as though officials were preparing the ridership for the commuter detours expected during the Democratic National Convention this summer, when similar detours will be implemented as a security precaution.
“I got offered a job in Woburn, and it’s looking a lot better now,” he said.
Boston fire officials said the leaking tanker originated in West Virginia and was en route to a company in Peabody. The name of the company could not be confirmed yesterday. The train and rail line are owned and operated by Guilford Rail System of North Billerica, according to MBTA officials.
A Guilford employee referred questions about the spill to the company’s executive director, David Fink, whom the employee said was at the scene. Fink could not be reached for comment.
Guilford was involved in a similar incident in 2002 that prompted an investigation by federal investigators. After that incident, US Representative Martin T. Meehan, a Lowell Democrat, called for a review by investigators from the federal General Accounting Office. About 200 gallons of hydrochloric acid leaked from a railroad tanker car into the Concord River on May 31, 2002. No one was hurt.
(Globe correspondents Jessica Bennett and Jack Encarnacao contributed to this report.)