Calgary-Experts from multiple local and federal agencies, plus the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health in the U.S., were on the scene starting Aug. 3 to oversee the careful transfer of an estimated 200,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia from eight tanker cars involved in a Canadian Pacific (CP) derailment just outside of a bedroom community north of here. “There have been no leaks of the product while we are making progress in the transloading,” CP spokesman Mike Lovecchio told Green Markets, “but with all the safety precautions it’s taking a great deal of time”; he declined to say when the recovery operation would be completed. He did indicate that the community of Airdrie, 15 miles from Calgary, with about 40,000 residents, wasn’t experiencing a lot of disruption except for the evacuation of three farmhouses adjacent to the site. He said there were no evacuations at all within the city. The eight loaded tankers were among 32 on an 80-car train that derailed around 7 a.m. MT Tuesday. Lovecchio said he couldn’t talk about a timeline for completing the transloading, but said the ammonia was being transferred into tanker trucks for delivery to the shipper. He declined to identify the shipper or the destination of the shipment. Cause of the derailment has not been determined.
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