Oil spill train line reopens

A rail line has been reopened in Alabama ten days after being the site of a train derailment that resulted in an oil spill. Although the track has been reopened, state environmental officials have admitted they are unsure just how much oil made its way into the wetlands that surround the line, according to the Associated Press.

The train, which was made up of 90 cars all carrying crude oil, derailed on November 8th just outside of Aliceville. The cars caught fire and spilled oil over the area, which is close to the site of a creek that flows into the Tombigbee River, reports the news provider. Regulators have reported that it is difficult to measure the true extent of the spill.

Works have been ongoing to remove the damaged train cars and to remediate the area affected by the spill. However, the line was reopened and allowed the first train through since the day of the accident on Sunday (November 17th).

Aerial photos of the accident site were taken by environmentalist John Wathen on Thursday (November 14th), who said that around two dozen damaged cars were still present and black liquid was seen floating on backwaters around the crash site, reports the news provider. According to Mr Wathen, each car would have held around 30,000 gallons of oil, although this has not been confirmed.

The state has said that it is unclear how much oil spilled due to the fact that a fire burned at the site for several hours after the accident. Some of the cars also didn't leak any oil, while those with large holes would have leaked petroleum, reports the news provider.

A spokesman from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Jerome Hand, told the Associated Press that crews had so far removed around 7,984 gallons of both oil and water from the site. The clean-ups crews used skimming to remove oil from water so it is unclear how much of the removed materials are oil alone.