Union Pacific Railroad’s “Business as Usual” Includes Contaminating Groundwater with Toxic Chemicals and Keeping it Concealed
Feb 27, 2023 - Blog by 1-800-LAW-FIRM
Imagine a scene with rail cars lined up at one of Union Pacific’s railyards in Kansas. This railyard happens to be in northeast Wichita, just north of a park where children play and drink well water from a fountain. Next, picture railroad workers back in the 1970s or 80s pouring or spraying a highly toxic chemical on the gears and wheels of the cars to clean the oil and grease buildup. Envision this liquid spilling onto the ground and soaking into the soil, eventually reaching the aquifer approximately 15 feet below the surface. Imagine that degreasing scenario repeatedly happening over the years as hundreds, perhaps thousands of gallons of the cancer-causing liquid, trichloroethylene (TCE), seep into the aquifer, eventually traveling south and impacting Wichita neighborhoods. […]