Beebe business owner describes evacuating amid Monday hazardous leak from train car in White County

BEEBE, Ark.- Businesses were forced to close in White County while people were evacuated from the areas surrounding a train incident on Monday.

White County deputies reopened Highway 367 between McRae and Beebe Monday evening following the cleanup of a Union Pacific train car that leaked nitric acid.

“I mean, when you come to work every day, say, you come in Monday, you’re not expecting something like this to happen,” Travis Tucker, owner of Steel Jaw Fabricators, said.

Tucker said it started as a normal morning until he saw smoke appear from the tracks as a train roared by.

“It looked like fire, kind of odd, so we walked out and saw it,” Tucker said.

Tucker said when he breathed in the smoke, which he said didn’t smell like typical smoke, he struggled to breathe.

“It wasn’t more the smell versus once you breathed what it was it, you just couldn’t get your breath,” Tucker described.

Tucker said he held his breath as much as possible while telling his workers to get as far away as possible and leave the area.

He said this all happened while different first responder departments rolled by with lights flashing.

At the time, Tucker said he had no clue what happened yet, just that it was time to leave the area. Telling his workers to go to their families and stay safe, he closed the doors of his shop.

Later, Tucker heard that the Arkansas Department of Transportation confirmed that nitric acid was leaking hazardous material.

“Obviously, there are hundreds of trains that come through every day; we get used to the sound,” Tucker said. “Almost out of sight, out of mind for me now.”

Nitric acid is commonly used to make fertilizer, but it is also used in products like glue and can dissolve gold and platinum; it’s even added to make military-grade explosives.

The CDC states that when in the air, it can cause your skin and eyes to become irritated, and if it makes direct contact with the skin, it can leave burns. This is why officials felt it was necessary to evacuate the areas.

“I would be fearful for my family and definitely it’s something to think about,” Tucker said.

Kristen South with Union Pacific said the evacuation has been lifted and they will continue to monitor the air conditions. Union Pacific reports there is currently no danger.