CSX Railcar Derailment; Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland | 1997-May-01

Initial Notification: Early on May 1, 1997, USCG ACT Baltimore received a radio report of a hydrochloric acid spill from a railcar in the Bayview Railyard in Baltimore almost under Route 895. Around 0445 a railcar containing hydrochloric acid had derailed and been punctured with a coupler. The potential was for 20,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid to spill in the railyard switching area. The initial spill rate was estimated at 50 gallons per minute. An estimated 13,500 gallons of 27-percent strength hydrochloric acid was released onto the ground. The fire department and police conducted a local evacuation of the spill area. The puncture of the railcar was one-third of the way up the car. Route 895 and Polasky Highway were closed, the harbor tunnel was closed in one direction, and Amtrak operations through the area were secured. The total contamination from the hydrochloric acid spill was described as up to two football fields in area. USCG district 5. Keyword: potential.