AZ - Train derails; acid forces 100 out in Sahuarita area

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Tucson, Arizona Wednesday, 3 January 2001 19 cars jump tracks AZ - Train derails; acid forces 100 out in Sahuarita area By Thomas Stauffer ARIZONA DAILY STAR A train derailment late last night forced the evacuation of more than 100 residents south of Sahuarita Road after sulfuric acid leaked from one of the overturned rail tankers.

No injuries were reported as of 10 p.m., but officials were still responding to the accident and information was sketchy.

The derailment occurred just before 8 p.m., about 1.5 miles south of Sahuarita Road on tracks that run alongside Old Tucson-Nogales Highway.

George Good, battalion chief with the Rural/Metro Fire District, said early reports indicated that 19 Union Pacific cars derailed and eight of them were carrying sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid. The acid began leaking from one or several of the cars, Good said.

Officer Jerrod Rosson, with the Sahuarita Police Department, said about 100 residents had been evacuated as of 10 p.m. from Sahaurita Road south to Quail Crossing Boulevard on the east side of Old Tucson-Nogales Highway. The evacuation zone last night was south and west of the spill because of the way the wind was blowing.

Officials from Union Pacific, the Pima County Sheriff's Department, Department of Public Safety, Rural/Metro Fire District and the Sahuarita Police Department were among the agencies responding to the accident. Officials were trying to determine how much of the acid spilled from the derailed tankers.

Rural/Metro Capt. Tom Louis said each tanker is capable of carrying 30,000 gallons of liquid.

http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/10103derail.html

-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), January 03, 2001


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