Update: Twice as much diesel reportedly spills into Columbia River after train derailment
The Washington state Department of Ecology has more than doubled its estimate of how much diesel spilled onto the riverbank and into the Columbia River when four refrigerated train cars derailed early Wednesday morning
The size of the estimated spill has been increased from 660 gallons to 1,400 gallons of red dye diesel.
The Union Pacific train cars carrying frozen vegetables tipped over onto the bank of the river at 3:20 a.m. about 15 miles south of Pasco. The diesel was used to power refrigeration.
A cleanup contractor for the train company set out two lines of booms to contain the spill along the eastern shoreline of the river. As of Thursday no sheen was observed outside the containment area.
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The Washington state Department of Ecology was notified at 4 a.m. Wednesday of the derailment, but initial reports were that there had not been a spill.
Ecology sent out responders after being notified that there was diesel in the river about 6:30 a.m.
Ecology will continue to monitor the spill, which will be cleaned up by the Union Pacific contractor, said Stephanie May, communications manager for the Eastern Regional Office of the Department of Ecology.
This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 2:16 PM.