Here is a copy of the article in the local paper

Methanol leak disrupts rail service
By Mike Bassett mbassett@...


LUNENBURG -- A train tanker car carrying methanol
sprung a leak here last night, disrupting commuter
rail service between Leominster and Fitchburg as
dozens of local and state safety officials converged
on the scene.

Rail service between the Fitchburg and North
Leominster stations was shut down late Tuesday and
early this morning as fire and safety worked to
contain the leak. Buses were used to transport
commuters between the two stations, but according to
an MBTA official on the scene, at least one scheduled
train was canceled. No injuries were reported.

Early this morning, fire and safety officials were
still offloading the methanol into an empty tanker, a
lengthy process, but Lunenburg dispatcher Anthony
Newell said one track was reopened for the morning
commute.

The leak was discovered around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday by a
railroad worker in the Fitchburg freight yard off
Summer Street, just over the Lunenburg line, where
Fitchburg, Lunenburg and Leominster meet.

Dave Barry, a maintenance worker at the rail yard, had
just started his shift when he noticed a "smoldering"
kind of odor that smelled like gas. Minutes later,
Baker said, another worker called the Fitchburg Fire
Department.

The response was fast and massive.

According to Fitchburg Fire Captain Ralph Alario,
police and fire units responded from Fitchburg,
Leominster and Lunenburg, along with units and
officials from the state Hazardous Materials Response
Team (Hazmat), the state Department of Environmental
Protection, the MBTA and Amtrak.

Estimates on the rate at which the methanol was
leaking varied. Fitchburg Fire Lt. James Belliveau
said Hazmat officials estimated the leak to be flowing
at a rate of one gallon per minute, although Beliveau
said he believed it was much faster. Fitchburg Fire
Chief Kevin Roy said there is no way to know exactly
how much methanol had escaped from the tanker car
before the leak was discovered.

Either way, it was necessary to quickly contain the
leak of what is a potentially very hazardous
substance. "It's very dangerous under the right
conditions," Alario said. "It's toxic to breathe, and
it's very flammable."

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, is commonly
used in gasoline additives, formaldehyde, aerosol
paint sprays, paint strippers, wall paints, antifreeze
and carburetor cleaners. This batch of methanol was
being shipped to a Leominster company called North-Win
Ltd. on Lancaster Road, according to Alario.

Once the call reporting the leak came in, police and
fire officials, concerned that vapors from the
escaping methanol could form a public heath threat,
scattered around the area where the leaking tank car
was located.

One Leominster Fire unit under the command of Lt.
Anthony Lefebvre, was staked out behind some
apartments on Atlantic Avenue, downwind from the
leaking tanker. "We're here just baby sitting for a
while," he said. "Since this is downwind, we want to
see if there are any vapors heading this way."

By 8 p.m. they hadn't detected anything.

Meanwhile dozens of commuters and rail travelers were
forced to take buses -- and taxis in some cases --
between the Fitchburg and North Leominster stops.

Rob Kearchner, 21, of Leominster, had even worse luck.
After visiting friends in Fitchburg, he was waiting to
take the 8:20 p.m. train back home when he heard the
trains had stopped running. Then, while searching for
some coffee to fortify himself on a cold night, he
missed the bus.

"The next train isn't until 10:30," Kearchner said.
"I'll be an icicle by then."



Dick


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