5 July 2008
Lytton, B.C. Mayor Says Railways Must Use Best Technology to Prevent Derailments
Lytton British Columbia - The mayor of Lytton, B.C., says
residents are still concerned even though CP Rail officials have assured them all efforts are made to prevent accidents like a recent
derailment of a rail cars containing chemicals.
Chris O'Connor was commenting after four CP Rail tank cars jumped the tracks near Lytton earlier this week after being hit by a rock
slide.
Two of the cars are still submerged in the Thompson River and one of them may be leaking the chemical glycol, used in antifreeze.
O'Connor says First Nations, in particular, are dependent on the salmon in the river for their livelihood and that residents in his
community want railways to use the best technology to detect rock slides or any other problems that could result in this kind of
potentially dangerous derailment.
"We dodged a bullet this time because it's ethylene glycol, it was high water, but what if it's during lower water where there's
less dilution or it's sodium hydroxide or chlorine?" he said. "The biggest concern is how the hell do we stop this from
happening in the future?"
Company spokesman Mike LoVecchio says CP Rail is awaiting the results of a water test that will determine if any glycol spilled into
the river after three valves were ripped off one of the cars as it landed in the water.
But he says environmental experts say high water levels mean any chemical that could have leaked would be so diluted that it would be
harmless to the chinook salmon, and that the chemical is also biodegradable and water soluble.
CP Rail officials have attended two town hall meetings since the derailment to assure residents that neither fish nor fish habitats
have been affected and the Suzuki Foundation agrees there is no danger.
However, officials of the First Nations Summit say they too remain concerned about the potential environmental impacts of recent train
derailments in First Nations' traditional territories.
"We are seeking urgent meetings with the CEOs of CN and CP Rail to discuss how we can work together to prevent and mitigate
negative impacts from rail transportation on our communities and members", Grand Chief Doug Kelly, a member of the First Nations
Summit political executive, said in a statement.
Several train derailments in the last few years caused environmental damage, including one by CN Rail that sent toxic chemicals into a
river north of Vancouver.
The Cheakamus River's fish population was virtually wiped out by the spill of 40,000 litres of sodium hydroxide into the river, killing
more than half a million fish.
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