MARCH 16, 2015
AUBURN, MAINE (NEWS CENTER)
A faulty valve on two empty tanker cars appears to be the
cause of a small leak of residual chlorine on the rail lines along Black Cat
Road early Monday afternoon, authorities said.
The valve was repaired and the leak was contained, police
said at about 5:30 p.m.
Emergency response crews that had donned special protective
suits to address the problem began the decontamination process Monday evening.
Police blocked the intersection of Washington Street and
Station Road and the intersection of Black Cat Road and Old Danville Road, and
set up a command post at Crossroads Market on the west side of Washington
Street near Exit 75 of the Maine Turnpike. All roads are expected to be
reopened by 6:30 p.m., police said.
The leaking cars were believed to be about 1,000 feet south
of the intersection of Black Cat Road and Station Road.
Maine Department of Transportation spokesman Ted Talbot said
the initial call came in at 12:05 p.m., when employees on the Pan Am line
detected the chlorine smell.
According to Auburn Deputy Chief Jason Moen, there had been
no immediate risk to the community. A nearby homeowner was asked to remain
inside their house, but local businesses remained open, as did the Maine
Turnpike entrance on Washington Street. Police lifted that order at 6 p.m.
Local school buses were rerouted.
Auburn police and fire officials, as well as railroad
officials, were at the scene.
According to Talbot, the Federal Railroad Administration
will be taking the lead on any investigation.
Now we are all saved.
No matter how “safe” people want to portrait the tank cars,
the fact of the matter is that valves leak, rails fail, cars derail, brakes fail, human operators commit
errors, others commit criminal acts, violent weather damages infrastructure,
and so on. The only thing we can do is
to be vigilant and avoid or minimize disasters – which we have done and
continue to do. That is all; life will
continue, as it should.
Source: http://www.sunjournal.com