MECCA, Calif. -- Spilled acid from derailed train cars in Mecca, Calif. may have put millions of dollars worth of crops at risk, government officials acknowledged to area farmers who met with them Wednesday night looking for answers on what to do next. About 75 people, many of them still evacuated from their homes after Monday night's derailment of a Union Pacific train near the desert community north of the Salton Sea, heard updates from experts on the cleanup and health risks of the phosphoric and hydrochloric acid spills Bob Mulherin, Riverside County's Deputy Agricultural Commissioner, said county officials would put farmers in touch with appropriate government agencies for testing crops before they're moved from the fields. "We understand what you're going through," Riverside County Fire Department Capt. Fernando Herrera told those gathered at the Mecca Community Center. Meanwhile, crews continued untangling a pileup of cars from Monday's derailment of the train that was headed from Colton toward El Centro when it jumped the tracks. Cleanup efforts could take at least a couple more days, and road closures and evacuation boundaries remain the same for a 9-square-mile area, Herrera said. Ricardo Casarez, 37, of Mecca, cares for his brother's ranch in the evacuated area. He's been living in a motel with his wife and six kids and hasn't been able to work since the spill. "I need to go to work but I can't," Casarez said from the meeting. "I think I understand what's going on. I hope everything goes okay, so I can go back to work." About 65 evacuees were put up in Indio hotels at Union Pacific's expense. "We understand this is an inconvenience," Richmond said. Workers on Wednesday pumped the phosphoric acid from a derailed tanker car into three tanker trucks. Phosphoric acid is used in the manufacturing of fertilizers, soaps, pharmaceuticals, water treatment and in ethanol manufacturing, said Ignacio Ortero, incident commander for the spill with the Riverside County Fire Department. Crews worked throughout the night Wednesday to reach a second leaking rail car and to check on three other rail cars that also carried acids. The other chemical spilled was hydrochloric acid, used in industrial and commercial production of pharmaceuticals. It's also known as muriatic acid, commonly used in swimming pools. Air samples show the area is safe, said Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Gisela Richmond. That still wasn't enough to help Jeff Percy. The vice president of Production for Ocean Mist Farms hasn't been able to see or water his 30 acres of cauliflower, lettuce and artichokes because of the evacuation. The crops have a short shelf life and he is worried because it is near the end of the season. He said before the meeting that the company could be facing a loss of several hundred thousand dollars. Workers covered up with dirt two acid spill areas on the north and south sides of the tracks. With the ongoing cleanup, train traffic was re-routed around the spill to Salt Lake City by using BNSF Railway tracks. An investigation of the accident is underway by the Federal Railroad Administration.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Post new comment