The whistle has been blown on a huge concealed leak of methanol that occurred at Odfjell Terminals (Rotterdam) (OTR) nearly four years ago. Between 6,000 and 11,000 litres of methanol was spilled while being loaded into a rail tank car at OTR in October 2009. The event was concealed by terminal staff and was not reported to the regional Environmental Protection Agency Rijnmond (DCMR). The spill only came to light when a whistleblower revealed the incident to local broadcaster Een Vandaag. The loading computer aboard the tank car is said to have been broken while the tank car was being loaded with methanol. Due to commercial pressure, staff at the terminal opted to fill the tank up by eye, which led to the car overflowing. The thousands of gallons of methanol that were spilt were consequently flushed away into the wastewater treatment works, the broadcaster reports.
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