(The following story by Rebecca Neal appeared on The Indianapolis Star website on February 9.)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The major cleanup work should be completed within a week at the site of a January Far-Westside train derailment.
Workers from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and CSX-contracted companies have been at the site since the Jan. 6 derailment removing contaminated soil and containing spills.
“CSX will work to continue to remove heavily impacted soils, but the major immediate response will be over within a week,” said IDEM spokesman Barry Sneed.
In all, the substances recovered from the crash included 22,000 gallons of lubricating oil, 30,000 gallons of soybean oil, 19,000 gallons of corn syrup, 650 gallons of diesel fuel and 7,000 to 10,000 gallons of liquid fertilizer, Sneed said.
More than 30 cars derailed about 3 a.m. Jan. 6 at Girls School Road when a train from Buffalo, N.Y., slammed into runaway cars that had broken loose from the Avon Big Four Yard. The accident injured two CSX employees.
Meanwhile, residents are waiting for results from tests on well water for possible contamination. The Marion County Health Department tested about 30 wells in the area as a precautionary measure, and Arcadis, a contractor hired by CSX, conducted separate tests.
The Health Department is waiting for lab results from its tests, which were sent to the Indiana State Department of Health, said spokesman John Althardt.
“They could come at any time,” he said.
Althardt said CSX has made bottled water available to affected residents until test results are back. He said most residents have been fairly understanding of the situation.
“We’ve had a couple residents call and ask, but no one’s been upset. Those that call are more curious than anything,” he said.
CSX officials didn’t return calls for comment.
The crash caused quite a disruption on the Westside for several weeks. It closed Wayne Branch Library for a little over a week. The library, which is adjacent to the crash site, had closed as crews used its parking lot as a staging area. Trucks and equipment still remain on the back portion of the lot.
Girls School Road between Rockville Road and Morris Street closed for almost three weeks. It reopened during the day for about a week but now is open full time, said Wayne Township Fire Department Capt. Troy Wymer. He said major track repairs are complete, and trains are running as normal.
Not all area residents are glad to see the trains back on schedule.
“Everything’s back to normal, and we still have all the noise,” said Sara Bell, who lives on Bertha Street near Lynhurst Road. “During the cleanup it was so nice and quiet. The whistles are terrible, and we hear that all day.”