photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Emergency crews are pictured Thursday, July 13, 2023, on Powerhouse Road, where they were investigating a train car that was reportedly "off-gassing."

Emergency crews were working a scene late Thursday afternoon near downtown Lawrence where a railcar was releasing refrigerated carbon dioxide, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

Crews were assembled on Powerhouse Road by the Kansas River Bridge, where a train was stopped and was “off-gassing” the substance. “Off-gassing” broadly refers to the airborne release of a chemical in gaseous form. A reporter on the scene noted an odor and a loud hissing coming from the train, and firefighters appeared to be periodically using a meter to test the air around the railcar.

In an email Thursday afternoon, Fire Medical data analyst McKenzi Ezell confirmed that the gas was refrigerated carbon dioxide and that there was no risk to public safety. She said that the release was “normal venting,” not an accident, and that “the BNSF train was stopped because the crews were being switched out.”

The train began moving again around 4:45 p.m.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Emergency crews are pictured Thursday, July 13, 2023, on Powerhouse Road, where they were investigating a train car that was reportedly “off-gassing.”