BISMARCK, N.D. — More than six weeks after a train derailed and spilled deadly anhydrous ammonia, state officials cleared the way for the first two of the 20 families that had been forced to evacuate to return home, a wire service reports.
“It feels great,” said Sandy Swenson, whose house is 400 yards from where the
Canadian Pacific Railway train derailed Jan. 18. “There’s no place like home.”
Railroad officials said seven tankers carrying liquid anhydrous ammonia farm fertilizer ruptured, spilling an estimated 300,000 gallons.
One man was killed in the crash, which sent a deadly cloud over Minot, and hundreds were injured. More than 69,000 tons of soil contaminated by the toxic farm fertilizer have been removed from the area.
Residents staying with friends and family and in hotels since the crash have been allowed into their homes for short visits to collect clothes, but until Monday, none had been given clearance to return home permanently.
State health officials, who have been conducting air quality tests, told two families at a meeting Monday night that would be allowed to move back into their homes. Eighteen other families still have not been given clearance to move home.
“There will be some that are choosing not to return,” Swenson said.