BUCKSPORT — Maine officials say an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 gallons of a paper-making chemical have leaked from two train cars that derailed and tumbled into the Penobscot River.
Four cars in a 31-car train derailed on a Pan Am Railways track Friday night while traveling to the Verso Paper mill in Bucksport. Two tanker cars fell into the river.
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Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Samantha DePoy-Warren said a chemical called kaolin leaked from the tankers onto the ground or into the river.
She told the Bangor Daily News that kaolin isn’t considered a threat to the environment, but guidelines say it should be kept out of the water.
The track reopened to rail traffic Monday. Pan Am is now working to determine how best to remove the overturned tankers.
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