Lawrence emergency workers respond to chemical leak
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical responded to a leak of unknown from a rail car.
The rail car was parked on a siding near the 400 block of Locust Street in the North Lawrence neighborhood.
Upon arrival, LDCCFM personnel made contact with a witness who said the rail car had started leaking a few days earlier. Procedures were immediately put in place to try and stop the leak.
A national chemical response call center named CHEMTREC was consulted and based on the markings on the railcar, the leaking substance was a Magnesium Chloride solution.
That product is regularly applied to non-paved roads for dust abatement and to paved roads for deicing purposes.
Information provided by CHEMTREK confirmed that this product presents no hazard to the community.
There is no ongoing leak from the rail car, and there is no hazard to the surrounding area.