5 July 2008
Too Unsafe to Remove Tanker Cars Now
Lytton British Columbia - Two derailed tanker cars, which
railway staff believe are still full of ethylene glycol, will remain in southern British Columbia's Thompson River until it is safe to
remove them.
The Canadian Pacific Railway cars are two of four that were derailed near the town of Lytton late 1 Jul 2008 following a
mudslide.
The cars are carrying ethylene glycol, a toxic chemical used in antifreeze.
A B.C. Environment Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday that one car is leaking: Its side is punctured and its valves sheared
off.
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A view of a CP railway car, which lies on a river embankment
near Lytton, B.C. Below it is a second, partially submerged, railway car.
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The Lytton First Nation and other nearby aboriginal communities fear the chemical would hurt the river's salmon run and their fisheries.
CP Rail spokesman Michael LoVecchio told The Globe and Mail it isn't safe to remove the cars right now because the water level is too
high.
The company will wait until the water recedes and the salmon run has ended before taking the cars out, he said.
"The major challenge in the recovery is the high water level currently in the Thompson and also the fact that chinook salmon are
migrating at the moment.
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A helicopter view of two CP railway cars that jumped the track
near Lytton on Tuesday evening.
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"We'd like the tanks to be exposed before we pump them out - we don't want to risk a spill."
In the meantime, divers plugged the three holes in one car with wooden plugs and crews are securing the cars to the river bed using
steel cables and anchors.
Mr. LoVecchio said water samples the company sent for analysis came back Friday and showed no measurable glycol levels in parts per
million.
"We're going to continue monitoring water quality as long as the product remains in the cars.
Initially, at least, daily," he said. "Once it's deemed safe to do so we will pump out the cars and remove the cars from the
river."
The company will remove the cars either using a crane or by pulling them up the river bank, he said.
"At this point that has not been decided."
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