(The Canadian Press circulated the following article on December 8.)
TERRACE, B.C. — A 30 metre exclusion zone was placed around a rail car thought to be leaking a toxic chemical in a CN Rail yard on Thursday.
During a switching operation, crews noticed a chemical called xylene coming from the top of the tube-shaped rail car.
The company’s hazardous materials team and the Terrace Fire department were called in to assess the problem.
“It’s a very small amount of chemical,” said fire chief Peter Weeber.
“There’s no danger to anybody in the community. Everything we’re doing is just as a precaution.”
Xylene, which can be toxic if inhaled, is used as a fuel additive and to make foam.
Company spokesman Graham Dallas said they believe the leak came from the safety valve at the top of the car.
This is latest in a serious of problems for the trouble-plagued railway.
On Monday, CN had two derailments in B.C.
After those derailments, the federal government ordered CN to limit the length of its trains to 80 cars on an old B.C. Rail line north of Vancouver. There have been 11 derailments on the stretch of tracks this year.
CN Rail was also fined $75,000 on Wednesday for failing to properly keep records of maintenance and inspection work done on a bridge after a derailment killed two workers in 2003.