Rail car not designed to handle its contents

A railcar that leaked hazardous chemicals and temporarily forced thousands of people from their homes was hauling a dangerous cocktail of corrosive acids that it was not designed to carry, authorities said Monday.

Sunday's spill caused a cloud of orange fumes above a several-block area of South Salt Lake, forced the evacuation of 6,000 people and shut down several roads and highways in the area, including a stretch of Interstate 15. By mid-morning Monday, evacuees were allowed home and the roads were reopened.

"The railcars are used for the transportation of sulfuric acid. That's what they're designed for," said Louie Cononelos, a spokesman for Kennecott Utah Copper, a Magna-based company that leased the railcar to Houston-based Phillips Services, a hazardous waste materials handler.

"For whatever reason, they were shipping something that was not sulfuric acid," Cononelos said.

But Phillips Services officials said Monday that the load complied with federal Department of Transportation guidelines on the shipment of hazardous materials.

"This material was definitely compatible," said spokesman Paul Schultz, adding that he had not seen a copy of the contract between his company and Kennecott.

"We deal with these things through a transportation broker," Schultz said, though he could not name the broker. "We have a full regulatory and legal staff that is dealing with various aspects of this."

Schultz said the container was filled with the mix of acids "close to three weeks prior" to the leak, and said the company was conducting its own investigation into the mishap.

Samples taken at the site by hazmat crews on Sunday showed the contents included acetic acid, hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid. The materials in the railcar were not contained and easily corroded the car's lining.

"That combination attacked the integrity of the railcar," Cononelos said.

Phillips Services also leased two other tankers from Kennecott. Both vehicles were traced to a rail yard in Ohio, where local authorities have embargoed them at Kennecott's request.

Hazmat crews and rail officials were angered Sunday by an alleged lack of information from Phillips. They struggled to pin down what was in the tank and the information they were given from the company conflicted with their own observations.