Two Days Of Cleanup Predicted For Oil Spill

[HuffingtonPost]

By Edward McAllister                

March 28 (Reuters) - Recovery efforts were underway on  Thursday to clean up an oil spill in western Minnesota a day  after a mile-long Canadian Pacific Railway train  derailed, rupturing three tankers and leaking around 15,000  gallons of fuel.                

The cleanup was expected to take another day or two,  officials said, after 11 cars on a 94-car train heading for the  Chicago area left the tracks on Wednesday about 150 miles  northwest of Minneapolis near the town of Parkers Prairie.                

The spill came as a debate rages over the environmental  risks of transporting Alberta tar sands crude from Canada across  the border. This was the first spill since the start of a boom  in North American crude-by-rail transport began three years ago.                

The amount of oil estimated to have spilled into a nearby  ditch and field was less than the 20,000 to 30,000 gallons  originally estimated, Minnesota officials said, though freezing  temperatures were hampering efforts to draw up the loose fuel.                

"Only about 1,000 gallons has been recovered," said Dan  Olson, spokesman for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.   "The remaining oil on the ground has thickened into a heavy  tar-like consistency."                

It was not yet clear if the crude was from the Alberta tar  sands or from conventional oil fields.                

Canadian Pacific reopened the rail line in western  Minnesota, it said on Thursday, following full track repairs and  inspections, said Canadian Pacific spokesman Ed Greenberg.                

An investigation into the cause of the derailment is  ongoing, he said.                

Meanwhile, the tar-like crude is being excavated into a  lined trench and will be hauled away for disposal.                

Canadian Pacific will use steam to heat the 11 derailed  tanker cars so the oil they contain can be pumped out. This  process is expected to take a few weeks, Olson said.

Via: HuffingtonPost