THUNDER BAY – “Two tanker car derailments in a month near Gogama is not acceptable,” states Charlie Angus MP for James Bay Timmins. “We need a full investigation into the cause of these accidents. We need to have a full clean up of the Matttagami River and an accurate assessment of the impacts to wildlife and people who live along this river”.
CN Rail states that “Ongoing air quality monitoring at CN Gogama derailment indicate no air issues at either Gogama or Mattagami First Nation”.
Firefighting and efforts to control the spill are ongoing.
Residents in the area have raised concerns over air quality and are very worried about the water after the spill of oil into the river. This is the second derailment near the Mattagami First Nation in the past month.
“The chief and council of Mattagami First Nation were already struggling to deal with the impacts of the first derailment and now they are faced with what appears to be an even more devastating incident,” stated Nishnawbe-Aski Nation Grand Chief Harvey Yesno.
Thirty rail cars carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire. The fire was creating thick black plumes of smoke.
