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Earlier this month, 23 emergency responders completed a tank-car safety course sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad at the Association of American Railroad's Transportation Technology Center Inc. (TTCI) near Pueblo, Colo.

During the five-day, 40-hour course, responders received classroom training on different types of tank cars, and how to use resource materials on car types, fittings and construction during an emergency. The course also included field exercises on assessing car damage, making repairs, transferring hazardous materials from damaged equipment, and using protective clothing and self-contained breathing apparatus.

As a “final exam,” responders participated in simulated hazardous-material accidents to understand how a railroad responds to an emergency and how to work safely on railroad property.

Since 1986, UP has sponsored 36 five-day training programs at TTCI involving 750 emergency responders and 130 UP response personnel. The Class I also offers local haz-mat training programs to communities.