1979 Mississauga train derailment
The Mississauga train derailment of 1979 occurred on November 10, 1979, when a 106-car Canadian Pacific freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals from Windsor, Ontario, Canada was derailed near the intersection of Mavis Road and Dundas Street in Mississauga, Ontario. As a result of the derailment, over 200,000 people were evacuated in what was then the largest peacetime evacuation in North America up until the New Orleans evacuation of 2005. Fortunately and remarkably, there were no deaths resulting from the spill.
Causes
On the 33rd car, in the middle of the train's load, heat began to build up on an unlubricated journal box. The journal box became what was known among train workers as a hot box. Residents living beside the tracks reported smoke and sparks coming from the car [citation needed], and those close to Mississauga thought the train was on fire. As the train progressed, friction burned the journal bearing and the stub of the axle broke off. On passing the Burnhamthorpe Road level crossing, the car lost one of its four axles.
Explosion and evacuation
At 11:53 p.m. at the Mavis Road crossing, the undercarriage separated from the track, causing the train and numerous automobiles to collide. Some tanker cars filled with propane burst into flames.
The derailment ruptured several tankers, causing styrene, toluene, propane, caustic soda, chlorine and fiberglass insulation to spill onto the tracks. An explosion resulted, sending a fireball 1,500 m into the sky which could be seen from 100 km away. As the flames erupted, a train worker closed a valve on the 32nd car, allowing an engineer to drive the front part of the train eastward along the tracks out of danger.
After further explosions, firefighters concentrated on cooling cars, allowing the fire to burn itself out, but a ruptured chlorine tank became a cause for concern. With the possibility of a deadly cloud of chlorine gas spreading through suburban Mississauga, over 200,000 people were evacuated. The evacuation was overseen by the mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion, along with the Peel Regional Police and other governmental authorities. McCallion sprained her ankle early in the crisis, but continued to hobble to press conferences and updates.
Aftermath
Within a few days Mississauga was practically a ghost town, until the contamination had been cleared, the danger neutralized and residents were allowed to return to their homes. The city was finally reopened in the evening of November 16. The chlorine tank was emptied on November 19.
At the time, it was the largest peacetime evacuation in North American history, and is currently the second largest after the evacuation of New Orleans, Louisiana after the impact of Hurricane Katrina.
Due to the speed and efficiency with which it was conducted, many cities later studied and modeled their own emergency plans after Mississauga's. For years afterwards, the name "Mississauga" was for many Canadians associated with this major rail disaster.
See also
References
- "Mississauga Train Derailment (1979)". Local history. City of Mississauga. Retrieved 2006-05-03.