Cleanup continues days after train derails in Palo Pinto County, officials say
By Julia Falcon
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PALO PINTO COUNTY, Texas (KTVT) — Cleanup continues at the site where a train carrying 35 cars derailed on Tuesday in Palo Pinto County.
Due to damage sustained to some of the cars, officials began a liquid flare operation on Wednesday to safely dispose of the propane the damaged cars were carrying. That operation will continue throughout the day Thursday.
There were no leaks from the damaged cars, officials said.
According to Palo Pinto County ESD1, the flaring rate was reduced Wednesday night to prevent heat from igniting additional brush fires. The initial crash ignited several small brush fires, the ESD said.
Residents near the Coalville Road Bridge, west of Gordon, should expect to see smoke and flames until the cleanup is complete, officials said. They asked residents not to call 911 to report the smoke and flames unless they believe there is an unrelated emergency.
The ESD said there is no danger to the public and no environmental threat from the cleanup procedure.
Cleanup will take several days, officials said.
What is a liquid flare operation? According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, flaring is a high-temperature oxidation process used to burn waste gases containing combustible components such as volatile organic compounds, natural gas (or methane), carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
The flaring process can produce some undesirable by-products, including noise, smoke, heat radiation, light, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, CO and can be an undesirable potential source of ignition.
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