The six tanker trucks carrying chemicals that derailed on their way to Ciudad Juárez near the border between the municipalities of Juárez and Ahumada were still loaded and stranded in the desert yesterday Saturday due to delays in the transfer caused by failures in the heavy machinery that would support the work.
There are five with sulfuric acid, which the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) classified as “highly corrosive,” and one more with chlorine, of which Luis Corral Torresdey, state coordinator of Civil Protection, said there is no longer a spill, “but the risk will end once the tankers have been emptied.”
Corral Torresdey said that each one has an estimated capacity of 53 thousand liters, although the amount spilled is still unknown. According to the federal agency, “until they are removed, the amount of sulfuric acid spilled, as well as the affected area, will not be determined.”
Profepa inspects the spill
Profepa began inspecting the chemical spill in one of the containers that the Ferromex train was carrying that crosses the state of Chihuahua. “The inspectors from the Attorney General’s Office went to the place where (five) tanker trucks containing the highly corrosive chemical compound (sulfuric acid) derailed; another tanker was transporting chlorine,” it reported.
It was reported that “when the relief valve of one of them was opened, the acid began to spill (…) onto the natural ground, so the railway personnel placed a wooden plug that prevented the entire contents from being emptied; however, it was not enough to completely stop the drip, and it was not until several hours later that a brigade from the company responsible for transporting the cargo was able to completely contain it.”
In this part of the process, Profepa inspectors tried to participate, but “they could not access the area to try to help control the leak, because the State Investigation Agency (AEI) had secured the scene of the accident, in which (four) people were injured and one died.”
Yesterday, El Diario reported that the transfer of the chemical agents was scheduled for Friday and to conclude on Saturday, but due to failures in the heavy machinery that was to be used for this task, its completion was postponed in order to continue with the removal of the derailed wagons and the work on the railway tracks, since yesterday morning the work had barely begun, according to Luis Corral Torresdey.
“What helps is that there are no people around, but we are concerned about the safety of the employees and also in case there is another leak, we suggest that the National Guard close the road,” said the state official.
Corral Torresdey said that it will be up to Profepa to decide whether there will be any sanctions for ecological damages corresponding to the spill of chemicals, although at the time of this edition the Federal Attorney General’s Office has not provided any information on the matter.
“What helps is that there are no people around, but we are concerned about the safety of the employees and also in case there is another leak, we suggest that the National Guard close the road.”
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