MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax-AVN) - A leak of melange from a railroad tanker car in the vicinity of Chulym, Novosibirsk region, has resulted in the evacuation of people from a ten- kilometer-radius zone.
"About 400 people have been evacuated to a summer recreation camp. Schools, kindergartens and shops have been closed in Chulym. There is no danger to residents, and the evacuation is a preventive measure," a representative of the information department of the Ministry for Civil Defense and Emergencies told Interfax on Monday.
Sources in the ministry's regional department told Interfax earlier that people had been evacuated because of the wind possibly carrying poisonous vapors to the town. A wind blowing at up to 6 meters per second is currently heading towards the center of Chulym.
A freight train was stopped at the Chulym station at 8:14 p.m. Moscow time (1614 GMT) on Sunday. One of the train tanker cars was leaking melange (a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids). The liquid is not flammable as such but may ignite if it comes into contact with a flammable substance.
After the leakage had been noticed, the railroad tanker car was taken to a reserve track. A new tanker car has been brought to the station, and the chemical is being pumped to it from the defective tanker car, the ministry source said.
Governor of the Novosibirsk region Viktor Tolokonsky has left for Chulym.
The ministry's information department said that the leakage zone at the Chulym station had been localized by 11:30 a.m. Moscow time (0730 GMT).
About one liter of the chemical is leaking from the defective tanker car every ten minutes, the ministry representative told Interfax. "Ministry specialists are spraying water around the tanker car in order to prevent dangerous vapors from spreading to the atmosphere," he noted.
The Chulym station is working as usual, he said.