Hydrochloric acid plume temporarily halts shipping at Texas port

Sept 15 (Reuters) - Hydrochloric acid fumes leaking from a rail car at a Texas chemical plant temporarily halted shipping at the Port of Freeport, Texas, on Wednesday, authorities said.

A leaking rail car containing hydrochloric acid sent a plume over Venator Materials Plc's operations early Wednesday and caused the nearby Port of Freeport to temporarily suspend vessel traffic.

There were no injuries at the site and the leak was halted when Venator employees depressurized the tank car, said Brent Powers, Venator's Freeport site manager. The cause of the leak is under investigation, he said.

A coordinator the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Response Center was at the scene, an EPA spokesperson said. No further details were immediately available.

(Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)