UPDATE: Hazmat Teams Called To Martinez Derailment

UPDATE 8:15 PM-

Three train cars carrying sulfuric acid have been placed back on the tracks under Interstate Highway 680 in Martinez and moved away from the area where they derailed this morning, according to firefighters.

As of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, crews had managed to upright two of the three cars, and were working to get the third car back on the tracks. It was the most severely damaged of the three, according to Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Fire Marshal Robert Marshall.

Firefighters announced via Twitter that all the cars had been put back on the tracks and the scene had been turned back over to the railroad company at 7:48 p.m.

The tanker cars, which did not leak their contents, initially derailed under the highway near Marina Vista Avenue at about 7:30 a.m., Union Pacific Railroad spokesman Francisco Castillo Jr. said.

Castillo said a Union Pacific crew delivered another company’s 20 train cars on Monday from its tracks to an industry line used by a company called Eco Services. According to county officials, the company removes certain substances from the acid.

When the train was being moved, three of its tanker cars came off the tracks, Castillo said. One of the cars tipped over at a roughly 45-degree angle.

County hazmat crews that initially responded determined the tankers were not leaking their sulfuric acid contents.

Local activist Andrés Soto, a spokesman for Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, was at the scene this afternoon. He called the incident a “near miss.”

“The whole community dodged a bullet,” he said, given that the sulfuric acid didn’t leak out.

Soto, whose group is against a proposal to deliver crude oil by rail to a Valero refinery in Benicia, said this represents a warning sign.

“Once again we learn transporting hazardous materials by railroads is a dangerous business,” he said.

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UPDATE 5:15 PM-

Crews are in the process of placing three train cars carrying sulfuric acid back on tracks under Interstate Highway 680 in Martinez after they derailed this morning, according to a rail company official.

The tanker cars, which reportedly did not leak their contents, initially derailed under the highway near Marina Vista Avenue at about 7:30 a.m., Union Pacific Railroad spokesman Francisco Castillo Jr. said.

Castillo said a Union Pacific crew delivered another company’s 20 train cars on Monday from its tracks to an industry line used by a company called Eco Services. According to its website, the company provides sulfuric acid regeneration services.

When the train was in the process of being moved, three of its tanker cars came off the tracks, Castillo said. One of the cars tipped over at an about 45-degree angle.

Castillo said a contracted crew using heavy equipment is working to upright that car and place the cars back on the tracks.

County hazmat crews that initially responded determined the tankers were not leaking their sulfuric acid contents and are overseeing the work.

“And with any operation of that sort, there are safety concerns,” said Matt Kaufmann, assistant director of the Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials department. “We’re there to make sure it’s done in the safest way possible,” Kaufmann added.

Local activist Andrés Soto, a spokesman for Benicians for a Safe and Healthy Community, was at the scene this afternoon. He called the incident a “near miss.”

“The whole community dodged a bullet,” he said, given that the sulfuric acid didn’t leak out.

Soto, whose group is against a proposal to deliver crude oil by rail to a Valero refinery in Benicia, said this represents a warning sign.

“Once again we learn transporting hazardous materials by railroads is a dangerous business,” he said.

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UPDATE 11:45 AM-

Three train cars that derailed under Interstate Highway 680 in Martinez this morning contained sulfuric acid but did not leak their contents, county hazardous materials officials said.

Matt Kaufmann, assistant director of the Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials department, said three tanker cars on the train derailed under Highway 680 near Marina Vista Avenue at about 8 a.m.

County hazmat crews responded and determined the tankers were not leaking their sulfuric acid contents, Kaufmann said.

The hazmat team remained at the scene late this morning and is working with Union Pacific, the company that owns the railway. Officials at Union Pacific were not immediately available to comment.

Kaufmann said Union Pacific is trying to get equipment on scene that can upright the tanker cars and get them back on the track. “And with any operation of that sort, there are safety concerns,” Kaufmann said. “We’re there to make sure it’s done in the safest way possible.”

Sulfuric acid is a corrosive liquid that’s primarily a contact hazard, Kaufmann explained, meaning it’s a health risk when it touches skin.

In large concentrations, it can also become an inhalation hazard.

Kaufmann said it’s not likely that this morning’s situation would result in that type of hazard, although crews are monitoring the air at the scene.

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(original story)

MARTINEZ - Three train cars derailed under Interstate Highway 680 in Martinez this morning and hazardous materials crews are responding to the scene, authorities said.

Martinez police, the California Highway Patrol and the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District all confirmed there was an incident involving trains derailing shortly before 10 a.m. under Highway 680 near Marina Vista Avenue.

County hazmat crews responded to the scene but were not immediately available to provide more information about the incident.

Officials at Union Pacific, the company that owns the railway, were also not immediately available to comment.

-Bay City News

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The train derailment shortly after 10 a.m. in Martinez near Monta Vista Road under the I-680 overpass was reported in a tweet by a local East Bay news source.

24/680 News claims three cars are on their sides, and sulphuric acid was part of the cargo.

A check of the CHP current traffic website indicates there is no rupture and no leakage at this time.

-images via Contra Costa Fire