(Reuters circulated the following article by Allan Dowd on August 9.)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian National Railway confirmed a train derailment that contaminated a popular recreational Alberta lake with oil last week may also have spilled a hazardous chemical.
Health officials late on Monday ordered residents near Lake Wabamun to avoid contact with the lake and water from nearby wells after discovering a ruptured tank car may have carried a chemical used to treat utility poles.
Clean-up crews had previously believed the spill involved only heavy bunker C lubrication oil.
CN said in a statement posted on its Web site that after checking with the shipper it found one of the cars “contained chemical components not fully reflected in the shipping information provided to CN.”
CN said it had been told the rail car carried “lube oil” but a chemical analysis it has since received from the shipper “raised concerns with provincial and federal environmental and health agencies.”
The railroad said results after testing the chemical at the lake were expected by mid-week. The statement did not identify the chemical.
The province has already warned it may take legal action over the incident.
“Alberta Environment will take appropriate actions against CN, which may include prosecution, if it is found that the company did not meet its reporting obligations,” the agency said in a statement.
The derailment of 43 cars of a 140-car westbound freight train about 50 km (30 miles) west of Edmonton, Alberta, has turned into a public relations nightmare for CN Rail.
Damaged tanker cars leaked thousands of litres of heavy fuel oil into the lake, which is a popular vacation spot, leaving a slick on the water surface and coating birds and other wildlife in thick black goo.
The busy mainline track has since reopened, but residents at one point threatened to blockade the track until efforts to clean up the spill were increased. The railroad has brought in emergency crews from the United States and other parts of Canada.
Monday’s order to stay away from the water will temporarily stop efforts by volunteers to clean the birds.
The derailment has also caused TransAlta Corp to shut down its 766-megawatt Keephills generating plant in Wabamun because the coal-fired plant uses water from the lake.