Last week’s remarks by a CN Rail representative regarding the railway’s storage of a highly hazardous chemical in our downtown area are very disconcerting.

While we understand that CN Rail has an obligation to its customers not to disclose information about their business operations, its obligation does not end there.

CN also has an obligation to inform and to consider the concerns and safety of the passengers who use the station to board passenger trains almost daily, as well as the multitude of residents in that area and the individuals who use the walking trail, which directly parallels the yard where the chemical is stored.

It would seem, judging by the frustration expressed by municipal representatives such as this area’s fire chief, that the railway company does not think it has an obligation to address the concerns of the community.

Fire chief Steve Hernen told this newspaper that the town has been after CN regarding this issue for the past four to five years and no resolution has been forthcoming. That is simply unacceptable.

Also unacceptable is the fact that the town has been attempting to negotiate its concerns with the railway company for that long, without bringing it to a public forum sooner.

The issue was first raised publicly by the fire chief last month. At that time he expressed concern about the storage of carts containing ethylene oxide in our downtown area. The chief also expressed concern about CN’s ongoing response, stating simply that it is going about its business in a legal manner.

When this newspaper contacted CN it had to wait two weeks before receiving a response, and then the response was anything but satisfactory.

Who is ensuring that the chemical, which according to studies conducted by the American Association for Cancer Research is a dangerous carcinogen, is in fact properly secured?

There is no security at the train station guarding it from vandalism, and considering how lethal ethylene oxide can be when inhaled, there are some serous concerns surrounding its storage in such a densely populated area.

It is time CN stopped acting under a veil of secrecy and self-entitlement and joined our municipal representatives in coming up with an adequate solution for the chemical’s proper storage in a more remote area.

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