Abstract
In December 1984 an unintentional release of poison gas from a chemical plant in Bhopal, India killed over 2,500 people. Thousands of others were injured. Although this material was not in transportation at the time, this accident raised public awareness. Americans began to ask, "What if something similar happened here?" Chemicals with hazardous properties have become part of daily life. Industry, government, and the public have become aware of the need to respond to problems involving hazardous materials. Safe transportation of hazardous materials is very important. Union Pacific Railroad transports more hazardous material shipments than any other carrier. Early on they realized the benefits to having a dedicated team of personnel to respond to incidents involving hazardous materials. In order to remain the safest carrier of these commodities, an emergency response plan utilizing in house response personnel was needed. This document describes how that plan was created and includes a copy of the plan for the Union Pacific Railroad's Settegast Yard in Houston, Texas. Other carriers may use this as a template to establish their own in house response teams or emergency response plans.
Reeder, Geoffrey Benton (1995). Emergency response planning for railroad transportation related spills of oil or other hazardous materials. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1995 -THESIS -R438.