The Province of B.C. is now confirming that about 80,700 litres of aviation fuel were lost between two rail cars after a train derailment near Kamloops on Nov. 1.
On Nov. 5, the Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR) stated that preliminary estimates suggest approximately 68,000 litres of aviation fuel were released from one railcar to the environment prior to the production transfer. This is on top of the Nov. 4 estimation of 12,700 litres of aviation fuel that was spilled from the other railcar.
At approximately 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, a Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) freight train partially derailed near Savona, sending one locomotive and 17 cars off the tracks. Four of the cars were loaded with fuel, five were loaded with powdered gypsum, one contained pulp products and the others were empty.
The three empty rail cars containing residual gasoline remain at the incident site. One is on the slope, and two are in Kamloops Lake, secured to the land.
“Some sheen was observed outside the containment boom, attributed to windy conditions on site,” stated a release from EMCR.
CPKC conducted additional sampling, including at the Tobiano water intake location, which has been received and reviewed by Interior Health.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says it is still investigating the cause of the derailment.
According to the EMCR, “The responsible person or spiller is legally required to clean up or manage the cleanup of a spill.
In incidents where the responsible person is unknown, unable or unwilling to manage the cleanup, the Ministry of Environment and Parks (ENV) may assume the role.”
~With files from Barbara Roden