UP reviews hazmat safety with ExxonMobil rail team, first responders

Union Pacific Railroad recently conducted an emergency response drill with Jefferson County first responders and ExxonMobil's polyethylene plant in Beaumont, Texas.

The exercise was held to help ExxonMobil's rail operations team and local first responders understand how UP would respond to a hazardous materials derailment on its mainline outside of ExxonMobil's fence line, according to a post on UP's website.

Based outside Houston, ExxonMobil is one of the world's largest integrated fuels, lubricants and chemical companies. Its Beaumont plant produces a key ingredient of many everyday consumer products, the post said.

Over the past four years, UP has trained more than 19,000 first responders in hazmat transportation safety, securement and response.