Railroad Easements and Sidings

Railroad easements and sidings are avenues for other contaminations to occur. The locomotives and cars they are pulling can leak oil and whatever substances they may be carrying. In addition the wood rails themselves contain creosote which can be harmful to the environment.

 

Railroad easements, spurs, and sidings can be an environmental train wreck. Tankers leak. Locomotives leak. The railroad cross ties themselves leach creosote and regulated metals into the soils.

Railroad tracks provide a way for large amounts of materials to be transported.  During the loading and unloading of the materials spills do occur and where there are spills there is the possibility for contamination of the property and those nearby from said spill. The locomotive and the freight cars also need to be lubricated for their mechanisms to function properly.

With hundreds of cars passing over the area some of that lubrication is bound to leak out and can potentially contaminate the environment. The rails themselves are made of metal as are the spikes. Metals themselves can contaminate the soil. The wooden beams that hold the track together are coated with creosote and other waterproofing materials which also can contaminate the soil and water of the property and the surrounding areas.