Update: Train derailment leads to diesel spill on Harbor Island

| Environment | West Seattle news

(State Ecology Department photo from spill scene)
2:37 AM: A cleanup is under way this morning on Harbor Island after a Union Pacific locomotive spilled 600 gallons of diesel fuel, according to the state Ecology Department. The state got word of the spill at 7:40 last night and says the diesel fuel “spilled to the gravel railroad bed when the engine and two rail cars went off the track.” Responders – also including Seattle Public Utilities and the U.S. Coast Guard – don’t think any of the spilled fuel went into the water. They think the locomotive was carrying about 1,500 gallons of fuel; the diesel that didn’t spill was removed by a vacuum truck, according to a news release from Ecology, which says UP has hired NRC Environmental Services for the cleanup. The Coast Guard says the two rail cars were carrying cement ash. Investigators are working to find out why the train derailed; no word of any injuries.

4:50 AM: Ecology spokesperson Dieter Bohrmann tells WSB that Union Pacific and NRC “kept a skeleton crew at the site” overnight, and are hoping to “get equipment in place to put the engine car back on the rails around 7 a.m., so crews could access the ground directly below the locomotive and determine any further cleanup actions needed.”

Caroline June 21, 2011 (7:00 am)

Does that explain what sounded like helicopters flying around between 10pm and 11pm?

1stdayofsummer June 21, 2011 (8:11 am)

That’s a shame. Would love to hear from an ecology expert about possible impact. I would assume it will go into the Duwamish with the help of the rain?

Sandy Howard June 21, 2011 (1:17 pm)

So far so good. None of the diesel has gotten into the water. Containment and recovery equipment and personnel are in place in the event the oil drains or is flushed by rain to the river.
Union Pacific has stated their goal is to excavate all of the contaminated soil. This work will begin as soon as the train engine is stabilized and moved. The train must be moved first to prevent a risk of undermining the railway and creating a risk of the train falling over. — Sandy Howard, Washington Department of Ecology

Paul June 21, 2011 (1:47 pm)

yah right, it will all just dissapear

Cascadianone June 21, 2011 (3:43 pm)

Sounds like they are cleaning it up and then some. I would imagine this size of spill wouldn’t have really any noticeable effect on the ecosystem even if they ignored it, but they are going to fix it. Life goes on, glad nobody was hurt.

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