News that up to 31,5000 litres of sulphuric acid may have leaked from one of the 26 carriages derailed around 20 kilometres east of Julia Creek is concerning property owners bearing the brunt of the spill.
According to a Police Media statement released on Tuesday, updated information indicates the train was transporting approximately 819,000 litres of sulphuric acid when it derailed at around 10.20am on Sunday, December 27.
An emergency declaration and two kilometre exclusion zone remains in place under the Public Safety Preservation Act to assist emergency services manage the scene.
Both Maurie and Anne Hick at St Elmo, and Nigel Simmons at Garomna, say they were finally advised of the incident and possible effects on their property yesterday evening, not by Aurizon or Queensland Rail, but by a McKinlay Shire Council representative.
“We haven’t been able to get out there and didn’t know what was going on,” Nigel said.
“It looks like the acid might have gone into one of our dams. We were told definitely not to go swimming there if we wanted to keep our skin or our clothes.”
He expected the three bulls in the paddock concerned would be watering at the other end of the paddock, but hadn’t been able to get out to shut the gate.
“At the moment we’re waiting to see what they’ll do to fix it,” he said.
“It’s a worry because the carriages are all still on the ground.
“They can’t get cranes in and they can’t shift them while they’re still full. There’s still a risk of further spillage there.”
On the other side of the highway, Anne Hick expressed similar concern about the possibility of further leakage.
She said the incident had taken place 150 metres from their boundary and they had been told that tests taken on water flowing to their property were clear.
“You just don’t know what’s going into the soil,” she said.
“It’s a tough one. We’re a bit in the dark here at the moment.”
The Hick family has received 160mm at St Elmo since the rain started on the evening of December 26.
Only one ruptured carriage has been identified as leaking at this stage.
Acting McKinlay shire mayor Tony Batt said the biggest problem appeared to be getting people trackside to assess the damage, and to build a stable enough platform to work safely from.
“The railway line is cut, and so’s the road – they can’t use either to bring things in at the moment.”
He said he was satisfied with the response from authorities to the problem.
“The spill went into Horse Creek, which eventually hits Julia Creek 10km from town. They’ve been getting clear readings from there so it looks like it’s diluted.
“It’s a terrible handicap with how wet it is,” he said.
According to police media, testing to date by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection in the area of the incident indicates that the nearby Horse Creek waterway has not been adversely affected by any leakage.
They expect authorities will have teams physically working on site later today dependent on weather.
The Flinders Highway remains closed in both directions between Julia Creek and Richmond as a result of flooding and the exclusion zone.
It is anticipated that the exclusion zone will be in place for least another 48 hours.
The Queensland Police Service continues to work with other emergency services, Queensland Rail, government and industry partners to manage the situation.
In a statement, Aurizon said they had been advised it was expected to be several days before they would be allowed access to undertake a formal assessment and begin recovery.
“The cause of the derailment is not known and will be investigated by the appropriate authorities in due course.”
