Ethanol Spill at Norfolk Southern Transloading Facility

The Norfolk Southern transloading facility had a 100-gallon ethanol spill Tuesday evening, according to City of Alexandria officials. 

The railroad has a transloading facility near Van Dorn Metro station and its tracks run through Alexandria, among many other places.

Norfolk Southern/RSI alerted the Alexandria emergency communications center to the spill around 5:10 p.m. 

The spill was entirely within the transloading facility's containment system and posed "no hazard or other impact on surrounding properties or the community," according to a statement from Tony Castrilli, director of the Office of Communications and Public Information for the City of Alexandria. 

A contractor specializing in cleaning up fuel spills was called and is expected to start work immediately.

Norfolk Southern/RSI is looking into the cause of the spill, said Robin Chapman, director of public relations for Norfolk Southern. Chapman said spills of this nature are rare. 

In December, Norfolk Southern officials announced they would notify the Alexandria Fire Department immediately as part of its emergency response plan rather than make other regulatory calls first.