ST. JAMES PARISH, La. — Residents of all but two homes evacuated after leak of hydrochloric acid were cleared to return home Thursday, a day after a Canadian National derailment that breached a tank car carrying 20,000 gallons of the hazardous material, the Advocate newspaper reports. And the evacuation is expected to be lifted for those two homes today (Friday, Nov. 4).
At the two homes that remained evacuated, some acid from the spill had crossed their fence lines, Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. said, and officials didn’t want residents at home while cleanup was underway and could release more vapor. Hydrochloric acid poses an inhalation threat as well as one from contact.
An updated count determined eight cars of the train derailed Wednesday in the rural Paulina area of St. James Parish, forcing evacuation of about 200 homes [see “CN derailment in Louisiana leads to acid leak …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 2, 2022].
CN said in a statement that its environmental crews were working to neutralize the spill and that the cause of the derailment is under investigation.
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