BNSF spokesman Andy Williams said 14 of 32 oil tanker cars just south of Doon in Lyon County leaked oil into surrounding floodwaters from the swollen Little Rock River. Williams had earlier said 33 oil cars had derailed.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds paid a visit Saturday to the site, holding an impromptu press conference on a gravel road south of the incident command center in Doon. Reynolds said she was impressed with the level of cooperation between the various state agencies and BNSF in responding to the oil spill, reports the Sioux City Journal.
“They’re working diligently to get that done,” Reynolds said of efforts to get a temporary road built so that equipment can reach the site to pull out the piled-up train cars and advance the cleanup.
CTV News Canada is reporting that Williams says almost half of the oil spill – an estimated 100,000 gallons (378,530 liters) – has been contained at the site using booms close to the derailment site. An additional boom has been placed about five miles (8.05 kilometers) downstream.
Skimmers and vacuum trucks are being used to remove the oil. Crews will then use equipment to separate the oil from the water.
“In addition to focusing on the environmental recovery, ongoing monitoring is occurring for any potential conditions that could impact workers and the community and so far have found no levels of concern,” Williams said.
A major part of the cleanup entails building a temporary road running parallel to the tracks where the derailment took place. This would allow cranes to remove the derailed and partially-submerged oil cars. It was not immediately clear how long that would take.
ABC News is reporting the train was carrying tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to Stroud, Oklahoma, for ConocoPhillips. ConocoPhillips spokesman Daren Beaudo said each tanker can hold more than 25,000 gallons (20,817 imperial gallons) of oil.
Beaudo said Saturday the oil cars are a model known as DOT117Rs. This designation means they are either new or have been retrofitted to be safer and help prevent leaks in the event of an accident.
