Friday, April 10, 2015

NO CAUSE YET ANNOUNCED IN UNION PACIFIC TRAIN DERAILMENT NEAR MEACHAM, OREGON. INVESTIGATION LOOKS INTO ALL POSSIBLE FACTORS, INCLUDING WEATHER, THE CONDITION OF THE TRACK AND HUMAN ERROR.




APRIL 9, 2015

Union Pacific Railroad and the Environmental Protection Agency have finished cleaning up the site where a train derailed March 2 along Meacham Creek.

Union Pacific Railroad is still looking into what caused a train hauling hazardous materials to derail March 2 in a remote and forested area of the Blue Mountains near Meacham.

A total of 10 cars jumped the tracks in a narrow, steep-sloped canyon where the tracks run on an embankment overlooking Meacham Creek. One of the tank cars was carrying residual liquefied petroleum gas, and another was loaded with approximately 20,000 gallons of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, or MDI, a compound in polyurethane used to make some glues and sealants.

No hazardous materials were leaked into the environment. Meacham Creek is a tributary of the Umatilla River, and provides habitat for a variety of fish species including bull trout and steelhead.

Michael Boykin, federal on-scene coordinator with the EPA in Seattle, arrived on scene a day after the derailment. He said the cleanup team returned off and on over three weeks to finish disassembling and removing the cars.

“The site should be restored,” Boykin said. “All the cars should be out. The metal is being salvaged.”

The main contaminant, Boykin said, was the MDI. Since the material reacts with water to produce carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, it could have posed a threat to native fish in the creek.

“We were very fortunate,” Boykin said.

The site of the accident is about 2.5 miles northeast of Meacham, away from homes. The land surrounding the railroad’s right-of-way is owned by Pendleton Ranchers, a ranching corporation.

Crews did have to build a temporary road into the site, Boykin said. Additional restoration activities included reseeding native grasses, planting red willow bushes along the creek bank and re-establishing the natural grade of the hillside above the road.

Union Pacific spokesman Francisco Castillo said he is checking back with the team into the cause of the derailment. Their investigation looks into all possible factors, including weather, the condition of the track and human error. 

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UNION PACIFIC TRAIN DERAILS NEAR MEACHAM; 10 CARS GO OFF TRACK
MARCH 2, 2015

A train has derailed near Meacham, sending one car loaded with hazardous materials down an embankment near Meacham Creek.

Monday was a rough day for Union Pacific Railroad in Oregon, as two trains derailed at opposite ends of the state.

The more serious derailment happened at about 6:20 a.m. in a remote and forested area of the Blue Mountains near Meacham, east of Pendleton. Ten cars jumped off the tracks, including one car loaded with hazardous material that rolled down an embankment within 100 yards of Meacham Creek.

Nobody was hurt and no spills reported, said Union Pacific spokesman Francisco Castillo. Meacham Creek is a tributary of the Umatilla River, where the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have spent years working to restore sustainable fish populations. The creek provides habitat for steelhead, bull trout, white fish and rainbow trout.

Though the derailment was not on the reservation, tribal spokesman Chuck Sams said their fire department was the closest to respond and soon after called for help from the railroad and regional Hazardous Materials Response Team.

A member of the tribes’ natural resources staff also responded to view the damage, but did not find any chemicals leaking into the creek. Castillo did not know what exactly was in the loaded car, but did confirm it was not crude oil. The other nine cars were empty, though one did contain residue from liquid petroleum gas. 

The 95-car train was on its way from Idaho to Union Pacific’s Hinkle Yard near Hermiston when it derailed. Eight other trains were delayed as a result of the incident, which remains under investigation, Castillo said.

It is the second Union Pacific derailment in northeast Oregon in less than a year. On Aug. 1, 2014, 13 empty train cars derailed along Highway 730 about 16 miles northeast of McNary Dam, five of which slid down into the Columbia River.
Meanwhile on Monday, a Union Pacific train also derailed 386 miles away near Oakridge in Lane County. Five cars went off track in an isolated area of the Cascade Range, two of which were loaded, though no hazardous materials were involved.

The accident damaged 86 feet of rail, 10 to 20 railroad ties, a signal and a train detector, as well as clips and tie plates, according to a report in the Register-Guard newspaper. Like the Meacham derailment, Castillo said no one was hurt and the cause is under investigation.