(3-28-23) A Canadian Pacific train derailed in a rural area outside of Wyndmere,North Dakota, a town of several hundred people, about 60 miles southwest of Fargo Sunday night and spilled hazardous materials (liquid asphalt and ethylene glycol). But local authorities and the railroad said there is no threat to public safety.and there were no injuries and no fire associated with the derailment.

Train Derailment: 70-car train derails in North Dakota spilling hazardous material

WKYC Channel 3 – You Tube Video

Canadian Pacific spokesperson Andy Cummings said 31 of the 70 cars on the train left the tracks around 11:15 p.m. Sunday.

Four cars were filled with liquid asphalt and two rail cars were filled with ethylene glycol spilled some of those chemicals in the derailment. One car carrying propylene was punctured and released some vapor.

It wasn’t immediately clear how much of the chemicals were released, but there are no waterways nearby and the chemical spills were contained at the site of the derailment.

Canadian Pacific VP of Communications Patrick Waldron

“No injuries have been reported. There is no fire. There are no waterways nearby and there are no evacuations. There is no threat to public safety. The safety of crews, first responders and the public remains our highest priority. Our hazardous materials experts are continuing a full assessment of the incident in coordination with local first responders.”

Secretary of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s twitter account has no mention of the train derailment in North Dakota. President Biden and the White House have no mention of the incident at whitehouse.org. North Dakota Governor Gov. Doug Burgum (R) did not make any comment on the state’s web site or his Twitter account.

Meanwhile in East Palestine, Ohio work continues on the clean-up, the Biden Administration still continues to avoid the conversation about the incident.

EPA in Ohio—East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment Emergency Response

March 27, 2023

Today, EPA published the  East Palestine Train Derailment Response Newsletter, 03-28-2023 (pdf) (1.07 MB)  for communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The newsletter will also be mailed to area residents.

As EPA continues overseeing cleanup work at the derailment site, large blue lake tanks are temporarily holding additional wastewater for removal and disposal. The lake tanks will reduce EPA’s on-site frac tank footprint. Frac tanks, for smaller quantities of liquid storage, have been used since the derailment to stage liquid before it is removed for off-site disposal.

EPA is reviewing preliminary soil sampling data as they are received. Final results will be available in the coming weeks. Part of the review process is to compare results to background levels from existing data.

As soil is removed from underneath the south tracks, excavated areas are backfilled depending upon soil testing results. Excavated areas are repeatedly tested, and soil is continually removed, until testing shows levels that are protective of groundwater. Clean soil is used to backfill excavated areas.

Last week, we filmed short videos at the derailment site to describe on-going cleanup work. These videos are a way of explaining highly visible cleanup actions, like liquids and soils staged for removal and disposal.

  • Watch the video on the use of frac tanks to temporarily store liquid wastewater
  • Watch the video on the large blue tanks that will reduce EPA’s on-site frac tank footprint.

A Look At The Week Ahead

At the derailment site:

  • Continued heavy truck traffic along designated routes.
  • Taggart Street remains closed to the public.
  • Excavation and construction work will continue at the site.
  • Contaminated soil and wastewater will continue to be shipped off-site.
  • Construction of two large 1-million-gallon storage tanks (used to temporarily hold wastewater) will be completed, reducing the need for so many frac tanks.

In the greater community:

  • Air monitoring will continue at 23 locations around the community.
  • EPA’s Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA) mobile laboratory will continue to monitor air.
  • A second air analyzer similar to the TAGA is being tested. You may see it following the TAGA bus around town.
  • Crews should complete the majority of phase 1 soil sampling.
  • Creek agitation and aeration is nearing completion and creek soil washing will continue.

Response By the Numbers

  • 9,171 tons est. of contaminated soil shipped
  • 8.6 million est. gallons of liquid wastewater shipped
  • 623 indoor air screening
  • The Welcome Center has received 408 visitors
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