CN accused of taking too long in oil spill cleanup

Some people in a resort community in central Alberta are accusing CN crews of moving too slowly to clean up toxic oil that is spreading across a lake after leaking from derailed train cars.

On Thursday morning, CN Rail crews were still trying to determine how much fuel had leaked into Wabamun Lake, about 70 kilometres west of Edmonton, after 43 train cars jumped the tracks near the cottage area the previous day.

By mid-morning, a slick of bunker fuel oil – a heavy oil used in asphalt production and to power ships and barges – stretched an estimated five kilometres across the lake. The pungent odour of oil hung in the air, while fuel coated many of the lake’s grasses and birds.

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But some cottagers say they’re worried that the rail company is spending more time fixing its track than worrying about the lake.

“Backhoes, hundreds of people, and they’re working hard, and they’ll work hard to fix [the track], but they don’t have one man on this lake right now,” Jay VanRassel said.

CBC News