Days later, coal still sitting in canal near James river after train derailed

by: Alex Thorson
Posted: Jul 27, 2021 / 09:13 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 27, 2021 / 09:13 PM EDT

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Piles of coal still remain in a canal near the James river after 13 train cars carrying the fossil fuel derailed on Friday — and it’s raising environmental concerns.

A spokesperson for the railroad owner, CSX, said workers are currently making sure the coal doesn’t spill further into the water. However, the spokesperson, Cindy Schild, said CSX still has not hired a contractor to fully remove the coal from the Kanawha canal.

“It’s a really serious issue when something like this happens,” said Tim Cywinski, an environmental advocate for Virginia’s Sierra Club chapter.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: CSX: Coal dumped after train derailment contained, recovery process not yet underway

Drone video shot Tuesday afternoon shows crews taking coal from areas around the water and loading it into trucks. The negative effects of coal still sitting in the Kanawha canal is worrying some like Cywinski.

“Coal is made up of a lot of toxic chemicals. Arsenic, lead, mercury, that’s just a few of them,” he said. “So whenever that gets introduced to a natural habitat it’s always going to be disruptive. So I would not be surprised if aquatic life took a real damage in this incident,” he said. Cywinski added as long as the fossil fuel is cleaned up correctly, there should be minimal or no effects on our drinking water.

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