Oil and debris spew over Mississauga due to train engine failure

Lube oil and soot debris from an engine fire on a Canadian Pacific train rained down on a Meadowvale neighbourhood Saturday.

Homes, cars, gardens, grass, and patio furniture near the train tracks south of Highway 401 between Derry Road and Winston Churchill Boulevard in Mississauga were all coated – and it’s hard to scrub off.

In an email to CityNews, a representative from CP said the “locomotive experienced a mechanical failure which caused lube oil to spray on the right of way and caused a small fire in the engine compartment which was extinguished by the crew.

“Due to the fire, some black particulate matter drifted over to nearby properties.”

About 250 residential properties adjacent to the south side of the tracks between the Meadowvale and Lisgar GO stations were impacted.

The engine had a capacity of 150 gallons of oil, the provincial Ministry of Environment said, but it’s not known how much of this amount was discharged.

CityNews assignment editor Brian Morrison found the substance all over his vehicle. See the video below.

680 NEWS listener Stewart Voth first noticed the substance in his garden.

He and his wife were out of town on Saturday, came home on Sunday and saw the black gunk on their vegetables, fruit trees and deck.

A representative of the Ministry of the Environment reportedly went around the neighbourhood on Sunday and left residents the letter below.

Voth tried to clean the substance off the lawn chairs in his yard, but said it’s embedded in the plastic.

He claims a neighbour tried to clean his car, but soap and water didn’t work.

A crew from the cleaning company Accuworx is on site cleaning the mess up.

Accuworx workers say residents have been told the substance isn’t toxic but are being advised not to eat the produce on which the substance may have fallen.

The company will clean cars, windows, toys and patio furniture — but not the brick and siding of homes.

The company does not have information on compensation if people have to hire third party to clean items.

People with concerns are asked to call CP’s 24/7 Community Connect line at 1-800-766-7912 or email Community_Connect@cpr.ca.

The incident and response will get another look at future council meetings, according to Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie.

“Council has a responsibility to ensure residents remain safe,” Crombie said in a statement.”For these reasons, I will raise the issue of rail safety and emergency response measures at our next meetings of Mississauga City Council and Peel Regional Council, respectively.”