OLYMPIA — Crews this weekend will clean up soybeans that spilled out of four freight cars in a train derailment Thursday night in Lacey.
The incident occurred about 10:30 p.m. along the BNSF-owned track east of Marvin Road and south of Pacific Avenue. No injuries were reported and no hazardous chemicals were spilled, said Dave Bennett, a regional spokesman for the Department of Ecology.
Bennett said the derailment was probably caused by a sunken track.
Crews will clean up soybeans from the wetland starting today, he said. The goal is to remove the empty railcars by Monday and get the train back on the tracks by Tuesday, he said.
The 113-car train was shipping soybeans from North Dakota to the Port of Tacoma.
The total amount of spilled soybeans, and the disposal site for the soybeans, have not been determined yet, Bennett said.
These freight cars can typically carry about 4,000 bushels of soybeans, according to the Soy Transportation Coalition. Each bushel of soybeans is 60 pounds, which means the four hopper cars could have been hauling about 1 million pounds of soybeans.
