Union Pacific Railroad reported a derailment of 5 tank cars and a spill of hazardous material in Schulenburg Texas at approximately 19:10 on June 15th. Schulenburg is located halfway between San Antonio and Houston, Texas in a rural area. Two of the tank cars derailed contain petroleum naphtha xylene and xylene/ethylbenzene. The petroleum naphtha xylene is reportedly on fire. Currently there is a 1000 foot evacuation order in place at the site (involves 2 farmhouses). OSC Fife has dispatched START to the scene. STARTs ETA is approximately 23:00 CST.
PDO Webster, 214.789.2667
After START and the EPA OSC arrived at the scene, better information was obtained. The derailment involved 22 cars, at least half of those containing hazardous materials. In addition to the two previously mentioned railcars, 6 cars of chlorine derailed, 2 of which rolled down the steep embankment, one tangled in the bridge superstructure. Another derailed car contained the herbicide Round-Up. A small amount of the Round-up was released.
The evacuation was based on the leaking petroleum naptha xylene. The derailment and damaged tracks extended into the city limits of Schulenburg, population 2,699.
