RUMFORD — A Pan Am Railways car derailed near Smith Crossing on Wednesday afternoon, causing about 20 gallons of sodium chlorate to leak out, officials said. There were no injuries.
Rumford Fire Chief Robert Chase said the department responded at about 2 p.m. to a call of a chemical leak on the railroad property near Smith Crossing on Route 108.
“A train car was derailed and part of the rail punctured an unloading valve causing the leak,” he said. “Approximately 20 gallons of sodium chlorate leaked from the rail car.”
The Fire Department set up an isolation zone of 300 feet and no one was injured or exposed during the incident, Chase said.
Pan Am Railway contracted ENPRO Environmental to assist in the cleanup, Chase said.
Calls to Pan Am Railway were not returned by Wednesday night.
Janet Hall of NewPage Corp. said the company’s hazardous materials team was requested to help, but Pan Am Railways was responsible for the cleanup.
By 8:30 p.m. the Fire Department had returned to the station but an ENPRO Environmental agent was still on the scene cleaning up.
Chase said the Department of Environmental Protection was notified of the spill and had been in constant contact with the ENPRO Environmental agent.
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