By Andy Hobbs

The Olympian

The Department of Ecology is responding to a train derailment that spilled soybeans out of four freight cars Thursday night in Lacey.

The incident occurred about 10:30 p.m. along the BNSF-owned track east of Marvin Road and south of Pacific Avenue. No injuries were reported and no hazardous chemicals were spilled, said Dave Bennett, a regional spokesman for the Department of Ecology.

Bennett said the derailment was likely caused by a sunken track.

Crews will clean up soybeans from the wetland starting Saturday, he said. The goal is to remove the empty railcars by Monday and get the train back on the tracks by Tuesday, he said.

This particular 113-car train was shipping soybeans from North Dakota to the Port of Tacoma.

The total amount of spilled soybeans — and disposal site for the soybeans — have not been determined yet, Bennett said.

These freight cars, also known as hopper cars, can typically carry about 4,000 bushels of soybeans, according to the Soy Transportation Coalition. Each bushel of soybeans is 60 pounds, which means the four hopper cars could have been hauling about 1 million pounds of soybeans.