February 8, 1994:

An Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOCC) train derailed during the evening while travelling the Quebec Northshore and Labrador Railway (QNS&L) at mile 159.75, from Sept Iles, Quebec, to Labrador City, Labrador, approximately 10 miles inside the Labrador border. Company officials report up to 5 tank cars containing Bunker C oil have derailed, one spilling an undetermined quantity of oil while three others are dripping oil. It was also reported that 2 tank cars of bentonite (aluminum silicate) have derailed but are intact. As reported at this time, all spillage is to the east side of the tracks with a water body on the western side of the track not in danger of impact.

Temperatures are reported to be in the -70° C range, making operating conditions extremely difficult.

No casualties were reported.

Current information would indicate environmental sensitivities/concerns to be low.

Environment Canada, Newfoundland District, (EC NF) as lead agency, will monitor the situation, and will decide future action pending IOCC site survey/report. Quebec Region EC have been informed.

IOCC's environmental specialist is expected to arrive on the scene shortly and will report to EC NF.

February 9, 1994:

An on-site assessment of the extent of spillage has resulted in a revised situation report. An IOCC official on scene has reported that 6 Bunker C railcars have derailed, as well as two containing bentonite. One of the Bunker C cars has been significantly damaged and has likely spilled all its contents (18,000 gallons). Three additional Bunker oil cars sustained damage to the bottom valves. As these cars were laying on their sides, it is estimated that each one spilled up to half its contents. There is no further spillage from these cars. The total spill estimate is approximately 35,000 to 42,000 gallons.

Very cold temperatures have firmed the oil, preventing further migration of the product. The extent of damage is confined to a ditch on the eastern side of the track, running for approximately 125 - 175 meters.

The oil has also flowed through a drainage culvert under the track to the western side where it has accumulated in a 10 meter wide pool on an ice covered river. The ice on the river is likely in excess of one meter thick and the oil should pose no threat to the waterbody at this time. A plywood barrier has been placed at the culvert to prevent further oil movement.

Work crews are in the process of mobilizing heavy equipment to the area with the intention of removing tank cars followed by spill cleanup. IOCC environment officials are on scene and further updates to EC NF are expected.

EC NF has asked that IOCC officials formulate a plan for cleanup, detailing timeframe, human resources, and equipment to be used in the operation, as well as reiterating the requirement to regularly file situation reports with EC. IOCC officials have verbally indicated that cleanup could take several days to a couple of weeks, and they expect to recover a significant portion of the spilled oil. EC has directed IOCC to assign priority to removing oil from the ice surface once cleanup begins.

EC NF will conduct a site inspection at a later date.

February 11/94

A further assessment of the site has resulted in an upgrade of the volume of the spill to approximately 66,500 to 84,000 gallons. There was a total of 6 Bunker C cars derailed, each sustaining significant damage. Each tank car has a capacity of 18,000 gallons. An assessment of the tank cars revealed the following:

Car 1: 8000 gallons remaining - 8000 gallons spilled

Car 2: 500 gallons remaining - 17,500 gallons spilled

Car 3: 4-5,000 gallons remaining - 13-14,000 gallons spilled

Car 4: 8-9,000 gallons remaining - 9-10,000 gallons spilled

Car 5: Empty - 18,000 gallons spilled

Car 6: Undetermined - undetermined amount spilled

All Bunker cars derailed on the eastern side of the track along with two cars containing bentonite. A third bentonite car derailed and fell to the western side of the track.

The bulk of the oil is contained in a ditch to the eastern side of the track, running for approximately 150-180 meters. The depth of the ditch likely averages 4 meters and is 3-4 meters wide.

As previously noted, a quantity of oil migrated through a drainage culvert to the western side of the track and spilled onto an ice-covered river. This culvert has been blocked with plywood. The river has 0.5 - 1.0 meter thick ice and an underlying water level of approximately 2 meters.

Bore holes were placed at the point of spillage on the river ice; Bunker oil was found on the bottom sediments. A bore hole was also placed 50 feet from the source and Bunker oil was also evident in this sediment. Three holes were constructed 90 feet from the source, at ten foot intervals across the river; no Bunker oil was present in these sediment samples. IOCC officials will continue to monitor this area and attempt to determine the extent of contamination. IOCC officials indicated that the specific gravity of the oil should be in excess of 1.0, therefore the oil can be expected to sink. The river affected has been identified as the Summit River, which eventually empties into Ashuanipi Lake.

The rail line has been cleared and travel is possible. A vacuum truck has been mobilized to the area today to remove the remaining Bunker oil prior to attempting to upright the cars.

EC NF will conduct a site inspection, along with REET partners, Newfoundland Environment (NF DOE)and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), early next week. IOCC officials have also been maintaining contact with Transport Canada officials (Transport of Dangerous Goods), and are continuing to formulate cleanup plans.

February 15, 94:

EC NF, NF DOE , and DFO conducted an inspection of the spill site and have met with IOCC officials to discuss spill response options.

Site Inspection:

Each car spilled between 50-100% of its contents for a total spill estimate of 87,000 gallons. Very cold temperatures in the area (-70°C) at the time of the spill, and subsequent seasonal temperatures of -20° to -30°C has resulted in very slow migration of the oil away from the site of impact. The oil has accumulated in a ditch along the eastern side of the track, ranging in thickness from a meter or more at the source, to several centimeters thick at the periphery of the spill. At the time of the inspection, the oil was firm but still had a semisolid consistency.

A drainage culvert under the rail line provided a conduit for hot bunker oil to flow during the initial release and allowed oil to migrate to the western side of the line and deposit on an ice-covered river. Subsequent monitoring of the river demonstrated that the Bunker oil had entered the river and sunk to the bottom. The specific gravity of the oil is approximately 1.02. The oil appears to have followed the deeper channel in the middle of the stream and ranges from >30 centimeters at the source to a few centimeters at a location 20 meters from the source. No evidence of oil was found in sediments beyond the 20 meter point, although owing to the fact that the river is covered in 0.5 - 1.0 meters of ice, an accurate estimate of the coverage of the river bottom is speculative. The water depth beneath the ice is 1.5 meters.

Response Plan:

EC NF and NF DOE have met with IOCC officials to discuss spill countermeasures. An action plan was presented, the highlights of which follow:

1. Remove oil from the surface by manual recovery or by controlled burning. This activity was to be implemented immediately. Both EC NF and NF DOE were not in favour of an uncontrolled in-situ burn.
2. Remove oil from the eastern ditch with a backhoe followed by incineration of all debris. This action will require significant logistical planning owing to the isolated conditions, cold weather and the expected long duration of cleanup activity. Incineration will be subject to approval by NF DOE with consultation from Quebec provincial environment officials.
3. Remove oil from the river bottom. This activity will present considerable challenges. Options presently under consideration include the use of a suction wand apparatus to vacuum oil directly from the river bottom. IOCC will also consider using an underwater camera to determine the extent of contamination. A second option involves river diversion followed by manual recovery of oil in the drained portion of the river.

Full implementation of the plan may take two weeks. IOCC officials will continue to monitor oil movement in the river and update REET on a regular basis.

March 9/94:

Cleanup operations continue at the site. Bunker oil has been physically scraped from the surface of the river ice, and this material is contained in barrels. The debris will eventually be incinerated on site.

Further inspection of the amount of oil under the ice and on the bottom of the river has been completed. Bunker oil had deposited in the river and spread both up and downstream approximately 80-100 feet. The oil is thick at the source, in excess of 12 inches, to 1-2 inches at the edge of the oil pool. Assuming an overall average thickness of oil ranging from 4-8 inches, the amount of oil on the river bed is approximately 5000 to 10,000 gallons. A flowmeter recored zero flow in the river. Monitoring holes indicate no migration of the product since the initial deposit.

Recovery of the oil on the bottom of the river will commence by week's end. A contractor, H.J. O'Connell, Labrador City, has been retained to conduct the work. The action plan calls for the diversion of the stream with subsequent excavation of the oiled material from the river bed. Replacement of habitat may be required following the operation. DFO have been consulted and have given approval for the operation. A DFO inspector will conduct an on-site inspection during the operation.

A second contractor, Sanimobile, Sept Iles has been hired to remove the remaining oil from the derailed Bunker cars. The cars still contain up to 20,000 gallons of recoverable product. The contractor will attempt to reheat the Bunker oil to 180°C with steam, and pump the material into a vacuum truck and return the oil to Labrador City. This operation will run 24hr/day until complete.

Oiled debris and free product from the eastern ditch (estimated at 80% of the spilled product) will be recovered with an excavator and burned on site. The provincial environment department has given approval for the burning operation. IOCC officials have conducted test burns with the product and have had to make some engineering modifications to the incinerator, but expect a burn to be successful.

Approximately 18 personnel, including an environmental specialist from IOCC, will be on site during the operation. Site inspections will be conducted by the REET partners during the cleanup. Post cleanup inspections will be conducted during the late spring/early summer.

April 8/94:

Cleanup efforts, which have been ongoing for approximately 2 months, continue. Oil contained in the trench on the eastern side of the rail line is being removed by excavation, and disposed of by controlled and uncontrolled burning. Steel pans have been fabricated (5' long x 7' wide x 1' high) and pooled oil has been scooped into the pans and allowed to burn. In areas with significant debris and/or ice mixed with oil, diesel fired burners have been used to incinerate oil directly in the ditch.

The in-situ burning had been undertaken without consultation with EC or NF DOE. An on-site visit by EC NF, April 7/94, indicated that burning the oil directly does not result in migration of lowered vicosity oil through the frozen ground below. Limited burning will likely be permitted to continue. NF DOE officials have been consulted.

The derailed bunker tank cars remain on site and have been steamed and a quantity of oil removed and returned to Labrador City (estimated 5000 gallons). Residual oil in these cars has been burned on site. The rail cars remain on site but will eventually be removed and scrapped.

A culvert connecting the east and west side, which permitted up to 25,000 gallons of oil to migrate from the original point source of the spill, has been capped. Steam was injected into the culvert to remove the considerable amount of oil that had collected in this area. Oil was collected by vacuum truck and was pumped directly into an on-site incinerator and burned.

Oil migration to the western side of the rail line resulted in deposition of an estimated 5-10,000 gallons of Bunker oil on the bottom of a river. Work up to this past week centered on construction of a temporary diversion of the river. The intent was to pump the water from the isolated area of contamination and remove the oil manually. Inability to adequately control water infiltration resulted in a request to and approval from DFO to construct a permanent diversion of the area. Construction of the permanent diversion is continuing to DFO specifications. When this work is complete, the contaminated area will be drained of water and all oil removed.

NF DOE, DFO and EC have conducted periodic inspections and have been regularly updated by IOCC officials over the past two months and cleanup activities are to the general satisfaction of all departments. The weather in the area remains cold but is expected to rise above zero in the next 2-3 weeks. Spring thaw will result in considerable water runoff; provided the diversion is completed before this period, no contaminated water should enter the river.

Summer, 1997

Environment Canada and other REET partners were satisfied that cleanup operations could scale down in the fall of 1994.

IOCC officials have continued to monitor the site on a regular basis since 1994. Sorbent boom has been placed at a number of control points along the railway ditch. Staining of the sorbent has been minimal. Terrestrial damage due to cleanup activities is improving. Construction of the river diversion caused significant, but localized, damage to vegetation. A re-vegetation program with grass seed, shrubs and trees has been successful.