(The following story by Justin Ellis appeared on the Portland Press Herald website on November 19.)
PORTLAND, Maine — An accident Monday night involving a rail car carrying radioactive materials in South Portland posed no threat to the community, authorities said.
But officials in South Portland and the state are concerned about how long the rail company, Guilford Industries, and the owners of the material, Maine Yankee, took to report the incident.
“I think in the interest of protecting public health and safety, there is an obligation for any business in the city to notify city officials of threats to our residents,” said South Portland City Manager Jeff Jordan.
The accident occurred about 6:30 p.m. at the Rigby Yard when a train car carrying crushed cement from the Maine Yankee plant hit another rail car. The cover of the car came loose during the accident, but none of the material spilled, officials said.
City officials weren’t notified until 9:03 p.m.
The South Portland Fire Department arrived while a Maine Yankee response team was still working at the site. The fire department notified Cumberland County Emergency Management, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Emergency Management Agency.
Radiological testing by the fire department and Maine Yankee found that the material posed no public health risk.
Authorities said radiation levels for the area were indistinguishable from normal background radiation, which people encounter on a daily basis. Because of the low levels, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission did not have to be notified.
The rail cars contained crushed cement and other building materials from the decommissioned Maine Yankee plant in Wiscasset. On Tuesday afternoon, the rail cars were being sent back to Wiscasset to determine if new car covers are needed for the trip to a disposal site in Utah.
Maine Yankee spokesman Eric Howes said in situations like this, it’s typically a courtesy to notify other agencies. But “I don’t believe anyone had an obligation to call” city and state officials, he said.
Howes said the material is classified as Class A waste, which emits the least amount of radiation. Because of that, the cars were not marked as carrying radioactive material.
Lynette Miller of the Maine Emergency Management Agency said the state has different notification requirements that are dependent on the public health risk posed by an accident.
Although the level of radiation was not an issue in Monday’s accident, Miller said it’s important that the notification system work properly.
“We do believe there is some room for improvement in notification, and we’re looking into that,” she said.
MEMA, the DEP and the Department of Human Services’ Radiation Control Program will review the incident to see if changes in the system are necessary.
In South Portland, officials are still uncertain why they were out of the loop for more than two hours.
Deputy Fire Chief Miles Haskell said the department is not sure why it wasn’t notified right away, but he said the effect on public concern may have been an issue.
“There’s no sense in panicking people that might misinterpret (the accident) as a disaster,” said Haskell.
Jordan said the accident was a small event, but officials need to be consistent in their response and follow procedures, including contacting the city first. Officials said there is much more material from Maine Yankee that will come through the railroad yard daily.