Early on the morning of Easter Sunday, April 3rd, 1983 a railyard switching mishap occurred in downtown Denver, Colorado. While coupling operations were being conducted in the switching yards, a tanker car was accidentally punctured and 55 cubic meters (14,500 gallons) of a 99-percent solution of nitric acid were spilled. The resulting vapor cloud of potentially toxic nitrogen dioxide (NO,) forced the evacuation of nearly 5,000 residents during the early morning hours and closed the city's two major metropolitan highways for all holiday travelers. This incident attracted national attention, because it involved a toxic waste spill in a major metropolitan area which required the orderly evacuation of a large number of people during one of the busier holidays of the year. Prompt action and excellent coordination among the responding groups were necessary to minimize the threat to public health and prevent public concern from escalating or otherwise impeding the safe and orderly resolution of the emergency.
Representatives from numerous governmental agencies responded, including the Denver Fire Department (DFD) and their Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Group (HAMER), the Denver Police, the State Highway Patrol, the Colorado Department of Health (CDH), City and County of Denver, Department of Health and Hospitals, the Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP), and the Regional Transportation District (RTD). On the scene a s EPA representatives was the Region 8 Technical Assistance Team (TAT), an organization of scientists under Contract #68-01-6669 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for response to oil and hazardous materials spills.
This paper presents the chronological events surrounding the spill and discusses the problems encountered during the initial response, the resolution of those problems, and the development and implementation of long-term remedial actions. The opinions expressed in this paper are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect official EPA policy.