Rail inspectors missed 250-mile toxic leak




A train that dribbled toxic acid across more than half of Iowa [last week] went unnoticed by a safety net of government agencies and
railroad inspectors whose job is to prevent such incidents.




It wasn't until hours after the faulty Union Pacific Railroad tank car
left Cedar Rapids that it was spotted Saturday night in a Council
Bluffs rail yard with a black substance pooled beneath it. Half the
tank's phosphoric acid had drained.




Federal and state officials say the 3,973-gallon leak over 250 miles
was a rare occurrence and posed only a minor threat. Phosphoric acid
can cause skin burns or internal irritation if swallowed.


 


Still, environmentalists say, the incident is troubling because the
state is a major rail and highway route for dangerous materials such as
gasoline, industrial solvents and nuclear waste.