(The North Platte Telegraph posted the following article on its website on August 23.)
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Vapor from a tanker at Bailey Yard on Monday required some of the workers around the immediate area to be evacuated.
According to Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis, the tanker car containing nitric acid had just come off the hump at around 8 a.m. and was in the western bowl when the vapor was seen.
Kim Keeling. U.P. manager of environmental field operations, was called to the scene immediately. After hearing that the tank was letting off a fog that was approximately four cars long, they decided to evacuate the western bowl area of the yard.
The evacuation started at about 8:15 a.m. and the workers were back at work by 9:30 a.m.
After assessing the situation, Davis said they released pressure from the tank, which stopped the vapor of nitric acid.
Davis said, “It was a faulty relief valve on the tanker. It released a little vapor.”
There was some nitric acid spilled, and it was neutralized with baking soda. They spread the baking soda around 8 tracks wide in the western bowl area. Crews poured around 100 pounds of baking soda to neutralize the nitric acid.
Davis said, “Nitric acid is like a really strong bathroom cleaner. It is irritating to the nose and eyes.”
The shipper who owns the tank is sending another tanker to North Platte and the chemical will be loaded onto the new tanker. They moved the car to an area that has been deemed off limits until the new tanker arrives.
The spill wasn’t large enough to warrant a full evacuation, according to Keeling.
The Haz-Mat Response Inc. team was standing by in case the U.P. crew needed assistance with the spill.