(The following story by Patrick Courreges appeared on the Baton Rouge Advocate website on May 21.(
LAFAYETTE, La. — Final soil and air testing at the site of Saturday’s train derailment in northwest Lafayette could be complete today, said a spokesman for rail company Burlinton Northern Sante Fe.
Joe Faust, a BNSF spokesman, said Tuesday samples were taken of the area surrounding the Saturday accident, in which six rail cars came off the tracks and one leaked about 10,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid.
About 3,000 people living within a mile of the accident site at the Ambassador Caffery Parkway overpass of the railroad were evacuated from Saturday morning through early Sunday evening.
The last road closure, the Ambassador Caffery overpass, was cleared Monday night and all roads are now back in use.
Rodney Mallett, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the only contamination zone remaining is an area of about 250 feet around the site.
That area is mainly railroad property, in any case, and does not affect homes or businesses.
Mallett said that planning is the current stage of the cleanup, as BNSF must have the blessing of DEQ for its intentions on how to get rid of the contaminated soil.
He said that the key issue in such an accident is neutralizing the threat to people and the nearby environment, and that was accomplished quickly by using lime to contain the effects of the acid.
Mallett said that the contaminated dirt will be taken to a landfill in Livonia, and fresh dirt will be brought in to the accident site.
Faust said the goal is to return the area to its initial state of environmental quality.
Mallett said that the samplings done thus far have shown no continuing air or soil contamination beyond the initial accident site.
Faust said that BNSF has tested the air around 15 nearby houses and detected no air quality problems.
A BNSF claims center for residents in the evacuation remained open at the Cajundome Tuesday, and Faust said plenty of claimants were still coming in.
The center will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.
Faust said that the company will reimburse costs for any evacuation-related bills such as food or lodging, provided the claimants bring receipts and proof of residency in the affected area.
He said BNSF does not put a cap on the amount that can be paid out, but that the costs must be legitimately tied to the accident.
Several class action suits regarding the accident have also already been filed.