(The following story by Hayley Graham and Bill Byrns appeared on the Daily Journal website on February 8, 2009.)
KANKAKEE, Ill. — The environmental cleanup at the site of the CSX train derailment and hazardous material spill in Grant Park will take several months to complete.
Union Pacific is implementing a long-range monitoring plan to make sure any contamination cleanup crews might have missed when removing contaminated soils can be detected.
Soil at the site has been tested to make sure cleanup crews dug far enough down to reach fresh dirt, said Mark Davis, a spokesman for Union Pacific. Results of those tests are expected within days, but the remediation effort will last four to six months.
A specialized environmental firm has already removed about 1,500 cubic yards of soil, which was contaminated by the 10,000 gallons of used automobile oil that spilled from one of the train’s tanker cars, said Mark Maday, a hazardous materials manager for Union Pacific.
Davis said a system that checks groundwater will also be installed to monitor the area and make sure everything remains safe. He said the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has approved what they have done so far.