A train derailed about 5 miles from my apartment and it apparently in contains chlorine and other hazardous materials. I was wondering how bad it would be if anything leaked.
Read my cite more carefully and thankfully the “hazardous containers” are empty. Other cites say different but we will see.
Hopefully no gas, then, but -
Chlorine gas can kill you. The chances of a derailment 5 miles away being able to affect you would likely depend on weather and terrain conditions between you and the crash site.
To be fair, your link only says that cars (sometimes contain hazardous material, but empty in this case) have been derailed. No mention of chlorine. Maybe it was edited after your post.
Chlorine is nasty stuff. There was a train collision in South Carolina in 2005 where 60 tons of chlorine gas were released.
Nine people died (eight at the time of the accident, one later due to chlorine inhalation), and at least 250 people were treated for chlorine exposure.
5,400 residents within a mile of the crash site were forced to evacuate for nearly two weeks while HAZMAT teams and cleanup crews decontaminated the area.
Chlorine was used as a chemical warfare agent in WW1, before they switched to more effective phosgene or phosgene/chlorine mix.
So year, pretty nasty stuff.
BowlOfDucks:
Chlorine was used as a chemical warfare agent in WW1, before they switched to more effective phosgene or phosgene/chlorine mix.
So year, pretty nasty stuff.
Chlorine gas, also known as bertholite, was first used as a weapon in World War I by Germany on April 22, 1915, in the Second Battle of Ypres. As described by the soldiers, it had the distinctive smell of a mixture of pepper and pineapple.[citation needed] It also tasted metallic and stung the back of the throat and chest. Chlorine reacts with water in the mucosa of the lungs to form hydrochloric acid, destructive to living tissue and potentially lethal. Human respiratory systems can be p
Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is a yellow-green gas at room temperature. It is an extremely reactive element and a strong oxidising agent: among the elements, it has the highest electron affinity and the third-highest electronegativity on the revised Pauling scale, behind only oxygen and f...
Chlorine is a toxic gas that irritates the respiratory system. Because it is heavier than air, it tends to accumulate at the bottom of poorly ventilated spaces. Chlorine gas is a strong oxidizer, which may react with flammable materials.
Chlorine is detectable with measuring devices in concentrations of as low as 0.2 parts per million (ppm), and by smell at 3 ppm. Coughing and vomiting may occur at 30 ppm and lung damage at 60 ppm. About 1000 ppm can be fatal after a few deep breaths of the gas. Breathing lower concentrations can aggravate the respiratory system, and exposure to the gas can irritate the eyes. The toxicity of chlorine comes from its oxidizing power. When chlorine is inhaled at concentrations above 30 ppm, it begins to react with water and cells, which change it into hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hypochlorous acid (HClO).
TL;DR: it doesn’t take much chlorine at all to severely injure you, and it doesn’t take much more than that to kill you.
The Emergency Response Guidebook recommends an evacuation distance of at least 5 miles downwind from a large chlorine spill at night.