Environment Department Probes Rail Car Leak

The Department of Environment is looking into Monday afternoon’s rail car leak in east Saint John which forced the closure of Highway 1.

Emergency crews were called to the NB Southern Railway (NBSR) yard in the Haymarket Square area around 3:30 p.m. and found spent sulfuric acid leaking from a rail car valve.

The Saint John Fire Department’s Hazmat team worked with NBSR and RST Industries industrial response team to depressurize the rail car and replace the valve.

Vicky Lutes, a spokesperson for the Department of Environment, said about eight litres of acid spilled as a result.

“Staff from ELG [the Department of Environment and Local Government] were not requested to be on-site at the time. An inspector has been assigned and is following-up regarding remedial,” Lutes wrote in an email.

Part of Highway 1 was closed for several hours as a precaution since it fell within the 150-metre isolation area.

The cause of the leak is still under investigation.