THE MISSISSAUGA TRAIN DERAILMENT

The Mississauga Train Derailment

The Mississauga Train Derailment

The Mississauga train derailment of 1979 occurred on Saturday, November 10, 1979, in Canada, when a 106-car Canadian Pacific freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals from Windsor, Ontario was derailed near the intersection of Mavis Road and Dundas Street in Mississauga, Ontario. As a result of the derailment, more than 200,000 people were evacuated in what was then the largest peacetime evacuation in North America until the New Orleans evacuation of 2005. There were no deaths resulting from the incident. This was the last major explosion in the Greater Toronto Area until the Sunrise Propane blast in 2008.

In Mississauga, Canada, in 1979, one of the well known accidents in transportation of hazardous substances occurred and is known for the extremely positive experience regarding the quick and timely response to the chemical accident. In Mississauga, Canada, in 1979, one of the well known accidents in transportation of hazardous substances occurred. One of the freight train car-cisterns loaded with toluene was caught fire and the toluene started burning. On the intersection before the railway station entrance, the railroad car exploded, and other 23 railroad cars loaded with propane and butane, as well as cisterns with 90 tons of chlorine, fell to the ground and were derailed. The explosion of butane and propane was so strong that one railroad car was blown 1 km away and luckily fell into a field. It damaged the cisterns with chlorine, which started flowing out. It should be mentioned that during the railroad car-cistern examination and control which were done at the previous station, around 40 km away from the place of accident, no breakdown was noticed. The railroad car explosion occurred at 23:54. At the same time, it was a signal for emergency situations services on duty. After only 4 minutes, policemen, the fire brigade and ambulance arrived at the scene of the accident. Some citizens were also present. Senior police officers arrived, and after a quick situation assessment and according to the plan got interventions, they established a command point near the place of accident, only 6 minutes after the moment of explosion. (Luxon 1992)

Several minutes after the moment of explosion, the evacuation of people working in a factory near the scene of the accident started. One hour and 30 minutes after the explosion it was established that among the broken railroad cars there were still some out of which chlorine was flowing. A team in charge of chlorine was immediately contacted, in a regional center 250 km away. At the same time, the evacuation of institutions and citizens was ordered. Within 24 hours, from the area covering 117 km2, 250.000 people were evacuated, including 3 hospitals, several elderly people's homes and some other institutions.

The team in charge of chlorine arrived at the scene of the accident 6 hours and 30 minutes after the moment of explosion, and some time before that - the team for propane also ...