At approximately 0503 on 28-Jun-04 in the town of Macdona, Texas, a Union Pacific train collided with a Burlington Northern train, resulting in a large derailment. The site is located in Bexar County, southwest of San Antonio. Chlorine and ammonium nitrate cars ruptured and released. Approximately 10,000 gallons of fuel were spilled from four wrecked locomotives. One railroad and two residential fatalities due to chlorine exposure were confirmed, with at least 43 others hospitalized.
USEPA Region 6 Federal On-Scene Coordinators Harris and Leos responded with EPA START Contractors to provide overall response coordination using Incident Command Structure (ICS) with Unified Command. A key operational function was offsite air monitoring for potentially affected areas. The EPA Command Post was co-located with the TCEQ Strike Team. For media information contact Dave Bary at 214-665-2208.
