Firefighters on alert as hydrogen peroxide tanker removed
Jun 06, 2009 - 02:12 PM
Reka Szekely
OSHAWA -- Residents evacuated after a CP train derailed on Friday will be allowed to go back to their homes once a tanker carrying hydrogen peroxide has been removed.
The car carrying the regulated chemical was in the thick of the derailment near the Park Road overpass. It was embedded in the gravel at the bottom of a pyramid of twisted metal. Though two box cars came to rest on top of it, the container seemed to suffer no damage other than a few dents.
Oshawa Fire Chief Steve Meringer said there were no leaks, but firefighters were prepared with hoses as workers pumped the chemical out of the tanker.
“This is the most precarious part of the (cleanup) phase and we want to ensure the tanker car is righted properly,” he said.
After that, the tank was to be loaded on a truck and transported to Toronto.
Hydrogen peroxide is not flammable, but if it comes into contact with organic material such as grass, the heat from the chemical reaction could ignite the organic material and, like oxygen, the chemical would feed the fire.
“If there is a leak, we could have a fire, so we have to make sure we’ve taken every precaution necessary,” said Chief Meringer.
Officials were hoping to have the tanker cleared and residents moving back to the area sometime Saturday.
Oshawa Mayor John Gray said he’d heard some reports that the chemical was similar to the hydrogen peroxide sold in drug stores, but that’s not the case.
“The reality is this is a higher concentration and therefore poses more of a threat and that’s why we had to have the evacuation zone,” said Mayor Grey.
Durham Regional Police Services Sgt. Nancy VanRooy said initially about 500 to 600 people were evacuated in a one-kilometre zone surrounding the derailed train, however, that was reduced to about 150 metres Friday evening. Pacific Avenue, Grenfell Street and Marquette Avenue remained closed in some parts.
In one back yard abutting the worst portion of the wreck, laundry still flapped on a clothesline, awaiting the return of the homeowner.
Chief Meringer said he didn’t expect permanent environmental damage. There was some fuel spilled from the locomotives as well as limestone slurry from one of the cars, but workers were cleaning both up. Though coating the nearby area with a thick white powder, the limestone slurry is similar to what can be found in dry wall and not dangerous to the public.
By Saturday afternoon, most of the undamaged cars had been removed and officials speculated it would be days before the full cleanup was complete. A portion of the railroad would have to be rebuilt.
Although there was damage in the area, including some residents’ back yards, Chief Meringer said a preliminary investigation shows the Park Road bridge was not damaged. Engineers will be taking a more in-depth look at it.
Overall, the mayor praised emergency personnel and said they had recently participated in an exercise planning for just such a derailment. The Mayor expressed relief that no one was injured.
“I think we came out pretty fortunate on this one.”
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