How officials would respond to a train derailment chemical spill in eastern Idaho
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IDAHO FALLS – As the repercussions of the chemical spill in Ohio continue to come to light, it got us wondering if the same thing could happen in eastern Idaho. And if it did, how would our emergency services respond?
EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Union Pacific Railroad to find out.
“As a common carrier, we are required by federal law to transport chemicals and hazardous commodities that Americans use daily, including fertilizer, ethanol, crude oil and chlorine,” Union Pacific Railroad spokeswoman Robynn Tysver says in a written statement.
While an emergency like the one in Ohio could happen in Idaho, Tysver says the chances are remote. Union Pacific has a number of safety protocols and practices in place to keep it that way.
First, all Union Pacific employees are trained on hazardous materials safety. They hold annual drills to ensure employees follow the company’s emergency response plans, and to ensure those plans are still effective.
The company also has teams around the region that are specifically trained to respond in case something does happen.
HAZMAT teams inspect about 5,000 tank cars each year. Everything from tank car fittings to safety labels are checked out.
“Union Pacific is a member of TRANSCAER, a voluntary national outreach initiative focused on helping communities prepare for and respond to possible hazardous material incidents,” Tysver writes. “We work with community emergency response teams to implement and share best practices and jointly educate our team members.”
One of their partner teams is the Idaho Falls Fire Department.
“IFFD has many specially-trained employees that respond to hazardous material incidents. It’s one of the largest all-hazard/EMS teams in eastern Idaho,” IFFD spokeswoman Kerry Hammon says. “Usually, we respond to small things. If there’s a car accident, we go clean up the oil and gas. That sort of thing.”
Hammon provided an outline of what would happen in the event of a train derailment hazardous material spill in or near Bonneville County.
After getting a call, the department’s policy is to dispatch firefighters and law enforcement to provide traffic control and attend to any injuries.
“The IFFD battalion chief would be one of the resources initially dispatched and would assume command of the situation on arrival,” Kerry explains. “The battalion chief would then call State of Idaho Communications and relay information from the incident.”
Together, the battalion chief and the Idaho Office of Emergency Management would plan any further response efforts and dispatch more resources as needed. The type and extent of response depends on the size and type of spill.
“IOEM has HAZMAT officers that work with multiple agencies to decide what kind of response is appropriate,” Natalie Shaver with IOEM confirms. “If warranted, state recourses would be sent to assist.”
Not only does IOEM partner with the counties and local responders around the state, separate counties also partner with each other, meaning neighboring counties would likely be called in to help as well.
“There is always a chance of an emergency, including a hazardous train derailment,” Shaver says. “We encourage our citizens to exercise their own personal preparedness so they know what to do in case of any type of emergency.”
While a rail incident involving hazardous materials is never outside the realm of possibilities in Idaho, officials says there’s no need to panic.
“Idahoans should feel confident in their state and local agencies and emergency responders. There are a lot of people working hard to keep Idahoans safe,” Shaver says.
Check out the IOEM’s Emergency Operations Plan for additional information.