OMAHA, Neb. – Twenty-five emergency response personnel from across the western two-thirds of the nation have completed a tank car safety course sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad.
The five-day, 40-hour course was held May 18-23 at the Association of American Railroad’s Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo, Colo.
Students received classroom training on different types of tank cars and, during an emergency, how to use resource materials describing tank car types, fittings and construction. The course provided hands-on experience in assessing tank car damage, making repairs, transferring hazardous materials from damaged equipment, and using protective clothing and self-contained breathing apparatus.
As a final exam, the class participated in simulated hazardous material accidents. The simulations help students understand how the railroad works with them in an emergency and how to work safely while on railroad property.
Since 1986, Union Pacific has sponsored 31 five-day training programs at the Transportation Technology Center for emergency response personnel from communities served by UP.
In addition to the tank car safety courses at Pueblo, Union Pacific offers local hazardous material training programs to on-line communities. Nearly 160,000 emergency response personnel have attended various training programs since 1979.
