World News | Cold temperatures help contain chemicals in North Dakota derailment

North Dakota, March 29 (AP) – Cold weather in North Dakota has prevented chemicals spilled from a derailed Canadian Pacific train from spreading far, authorities said.

Brett Lambrecht, director of emergency management for Richland County, said Tuesday that with temperatures well below freezing, all the spilled chemicals remained behind about 100 people in the rural area of ​​Sunday night’s derailment, about 97 kilometers southwest of Fargo. within feet. The maximum temperature expected in the region on Tuesday was just minus 8C.

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“Weather conditions have helped a lot,” Lambrecht said.

No one was injured or caught fire during the derailment, and no one at the two nearby farmhouses or the town of Windermere, a few miles away, needed to be evacuated. There are no waterways near the derailment site.

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Due to the cold weather, much of the liquid asphalt and glycol spilled from the six cars involved in the derailment hardened and remained on the ground, Lambrecht said.

A tanker truck punctured in the crash also leaked some propylene gas, but officials were able to patch the leak in that vehicle. Liquid bitumen looked like “black plastic flakes” after freezing, he said.

Officials are not yet sure how much chemical was spilled, but none of the leaking train cars spilled their entire contents.

A total of 31 of the train’s 70 cars derailed. Canadian Pacific officials said they believe a broken rail line caused the derailment.

The railroad was able to clear the tracks and resume train service through the area Monday night, but Canadian Pacific was still working to remove any damaged cars from the scene.

“From your point of view, it’s really been a nice quick recovery,” Lambrecht said.

The chemical cleanup is expected to take about two weeks. The railroad’s own hazardous materials experts are working with local officials.

Last month’s fiery derailment outside East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, has revived interest in rail safety. Federal regulators and MPs have proposed a number of safety reforms following the Norfolk Southern derailment. Major freight railroads also said they would install about 1,000 more trackside detectors after derailments to help spot equipment problems before they could cause future derailments. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)