Evacuations in chemical train derailment could last days

EUNICE, La. - Evacuees said Sunday they were told it could be days before 2,000 people are allowed back into homes near the wreckage of a chemical train that derailed and caught fire at the edge of town.

Saturday's blaze, fueled by exploding rail cars that sent fireballs into the sky and ash raining down on neighborhoods, had subsided to a few small fires Sunday. But the smoldering wreckage of the seven rail cars that burned still contained hazards.

Cleanup crews and National Transportation Safety Board investigators were in Eunice on Sunday, but the wreckage remained too hot to approach, State Trooper Chris Guillory said.

He said investigators were also concerned that heat from the burning cars could have damaged other tanks or cause chemical reactions that could lead to more explosions.

''The good news is the fire has died down substantially,'' Guillory said. ''As soon it cools down where we can get some people in there, we can get a better determination of what is there and how fast we can clear it up and get people back home.''

He said officials had not set a definite time for allowing the evacuees to return. About 2,000 of the town's 11,000 residents were ordered to evacuate homes and businesses within 1 to 2 miles of the wreck Saturday.

Union Pacific Railroad put up 550 families in hotels, filling up rooms up to 40 miles away, company spokesman Mark Davis said. He said animal control workers and sheriff's deputies were working on a plan to feed pets in the evacuated area if people could not return Monday.

Generally, until an evacuation order is lifted, ''you try not to allow the people to go in. Because once they go in, they won't come out. You don't want to create that,'' he said.

Thirty of the Union Pacific train's 34 cars derailed, seven of them burned.

No injuries were reported, and Guillory said air monitoring equipment hadn't picked up any hazardous levels of chemicals. ''Apparently everything was consumed in the fire,'' he said.

Some chemicals leaked into a pond, but since it was dug for a golf course, it does not feed into any streams or rivers, Davis said.

Dense smoke and intense flames had made it impossible to accurately assess the wreckage until Sunday, Guillory said.

Officials who flew over the site Sunday said the cars loaded with two of the most dangerous chemicals - acrylic acid and dichloropropane - did not appear to have burned, but they were paying close attention to the tank with acrylic acid, Guillory said.

''It doesn't look like it's exploded, and we certainly don't want to make it explode,'' he said.

Acrylic acid has vapors that can irritate the lungs, nose and throat. Other chemicals on the train could cause dizziness, convulsions, lung irritation and even death if people came in contact with large amounts.

The train was heading from Freeport, Texas, to Livonia, La., when it derailed shortly before noon Saturday in Eunice, 77 miles west of Baton Rouge.

Durland Miller said he was winning at cards when officials banged at the door and ordered everyone to leave the area.

''I'm 75 years old, and I've seen a lot of things and done a lot of things, but this is the first time I've been evacuated,'' Miller said. He said, with a chuckle, ''I cashed in my chips before I left.''

On the Net:

Union Pacific Railroad http://www.uprr.com/index.shtml

Department of Transportation's hazardous materials website.: http://hazmat.dot.gov/