Early-hour intervention might have helped

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The recent derailment of Canadian National Railway ethanol tankers in Rockford leaves many questions in its wake. Not only was there the tragic death of a bystander, there was also the loss of thousands of the Rock River’s fish. Did Canadian National stand idly by as the community tried to figure out what was causing the massive fish kill?

Previous cases of waterway ethanol contamination have shown the effects. Similar instances (one in Hancock County, Ohio, and another in Huron, S.D.) have resulted in fish kills.

However, in those instances, the cleanup was aided by the offending company, and aerators were strategically placed along the waterway to prevent the low oxygen status of the water, which results from the ethanol degradation.

I’m not a chemist or a biodiesel expert, but my perception is that there may have been more that could have been done in the early hours after the event.

I hope we can learn from this event so that history doesn’t continue to repeat itself.

My condolences go out to those who lost their family member.