The Tiskilwa Train Derailment Site is located at Railroad MP 122.4 in Tiskilwa, Bureau County, Illinois. The incident occurred at 0255 hrs on October 7, 2011 and was reported to the NRC (Report #991849) by the Iowa Interstate Railroad (the PRP) at 0441 hrs. U.S. EPA OSC Len Zintak mobilized START contractors to begin emergency response activities on October 7, 2011.
Nine of the derailed train cars contained denatured ethanol. Several ethanol cars caught fire or exploded, and ethanol was spilled. It is unknown how much ethanol spilled. Approximately 27 cars of 126 total on the train derailed and roughly 500ft of track was impacted. 17 of the cars were 'hopper' cars containing dry corn mash and the other 10 were full tanker loads of ethanol. The fire was extinguished, damaged cars and track removed, and soil excavated by October 10, 2011. Ethanol product that was not spilled or burned off was recovered. It is anticipated that the majority of the ethanol product release was burned off in the subsequent fire and explosions. The intensity of the fire prompted a voluntary evacuation of the town of Tiskilwa, Illinois, which was lifted on October 8, 2011 once the fire was under control. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) assumed control of the incident in order to conduct a full investigation.
START contractors and railroad contractors established continuous perimeter air monitoring with AreaRAEs in 3 locations and MultiRAEs at various locations around the perimeter of the wreck site. In addition, START collected physical water samples from both the Plow Hollow Creek (to the east) and Big Bureau Creek (to the north) for laboratory analysis. Plow Hollow Creek flows north to Big Bureau Creek which flows east to the Illinois River approximately 8 miles downstream. Surface water sampling was conducted every 4-5 hours with a YSI meter following the incident. Finally, START contractors conducted oversight of PRP sampling (air, surface water and soils) activities as well as excavation and removal of underlying soils which may have been contaminated.
U.S. EPA, START, NTSB and Illinois EPA reviewed a draft environmental monitoring plan covering groundwater, residential well, surface water, surface and sub-surface soils, wastes and air monitoring. This plan was submitted by the PRP on October 9, 2011 for review.
U.S. EPA demobilized from the site on October 10, 2011. Ongoing surface water monitoring and subsequent remediation activities which may be necessary will be overseen by Illinois EPA and local health officials. U.S. EPA OSCs will continue to provide data, information and technical support to Illinios EPA regarding the incident as requested.
