SEATTLE — Burlington Northern Santa Fe says most of a 3,000-gallon diesel spill was contained in a ditch at a Seattle switching yard.
Railroad spokesman Gus Melonas said the fuel spilled Thursday morning when a locomotive derailed on a side track of the Interbay yard, and a section of rail ruptured the tank.
No one was injured. The locomotive remained upright. A cleanup contractor with a suction truck removed diesel from the ditch.
Melonas said some diesel went into a storm drain and was caught at a treatment facility. Absorbent pads were placed around Piers 90 and 91 on the Seattle waterfront as a precaution.
The Coast Guard and state Ecology Department are monitoring the cleanup work. The Seattle fire department responded, but the spilled fuel did not catch fire.
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