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A few blocks west of the chemical explosion that sent manhole covers flying Saturday, Baltimore's sewer system connects to the Howard Street Tunnel where a CSX train carrying the same chemical caught fire last month, CSX officials acknowledged yesterday.
Despite that link, city and railroad officials said it was too soon to conclude that the 1,000 gallons of tripropylene that mysteriously appeared in Inner Harbor sewers came from the train, in part because the city's sewer system is extremely old, complex and, in some cases, poorly mapped.
"It looks like a maze," Michael Sharon, chief of the Maryland Department of the Environment's emergency response division.
"The city is 200 years old, and there's a whole network of tunnels down there," he said. "It's not uncommon to find tunnels that don't show on maps. ... So many things occurred under these streets. It's very complex, and there are things out there sometimes that people don't expect."
Using tools as simple as fishing rods and as powerful as 2 million gallons of gushing water, Baltimore emergency workers worked through the night Saturday to remove all but the faintest whiff of the chemical by yesterday morning.
Downtown streets reopened to traffic by late yesterday morning, and officials expected to have three traffic signals that were darkened by the blasts working for today's morning rush hour.
The main task ahead is detective work, as officials try to determine what caused three 300-pound manhole covers near the intersection of Pratt and Light streets to shoot up to four feet in the air about 5:15 a.m. Saturday.
No one was injured, and officials said the chemical did no environmental harm to the Inner Harbor. A boom and absorbent pads contained and collected any tripropylene that flowed into the water.
City Public Works Director George L. Winfield said it is not clear how the tripropylene ignited or how it wound up in the sewers in the first place.
On Saturday, Public Works Department spokesman Robert Murrow said the train tunnel's drainage system was separate from the city's sewer system. But yesterday, Murrow said CSX officials had informed the city of a connection.
"There is a link from the tunnel to the storm drain," Murrow said. "CSX told us."
Robert L. Gould, a CSX spokesman, said the tunnel's drainage system connects to the sewers about 600 feet to 700 feet south of the intersection of Lombard and Howard streets.
"We and the state had tested [the connection area] during the [train] incident and yesterday tested again to see if there was a presence of that product, and none was noted," Gould said. "Obviously, we're going to continue to cooperate to try to get to the source of it.
"Obviously that's one logical source that officials would be looking at, but as expansive as the city sewer system is and as common as the chemical is, it's extremely premature to jump to any conclusions," Gould said.
"You do have industry in the area that uses this chemical" for the manufacture of plastics and petroleum products, added Gould, who said he did not know the companies by name.
Some forms of the chemical have a flash point as low as 75 degrees, meaning its vapor can explode when exposed to flame at that temperature, Baltimore Fire Department spokesman Michael M. Maybin said.
Winfield said it is possible that Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. electrical lines running through the sewer could have caused a spark, but he said that had not been determined.
"We're going to take a look to see if our equipment could have been involved," said Karl Neddenien, a spokesman for BGE.
Winfield also said it was possible that recent rains played a role, because the water washes through storm drains. On Friday, Baltimore received 0.64 inches of rain, which at that point was most substantial single rainfall since the train accident.
Despite that link, city and railroad officials said it was too soon to conclude that the 1,000 gallons of tripropylene that mysteriously appeared in Inner Harbor sewers came from the train, in part because the city's sewer system is extremely old, complex and, in some cases, poorly mapped.
"The city is 200 years old, and there's a whole network of tunnels down there," he said. "It's not uncommon to find tunnels that don't show on maps. ... So many things occurred under these streets. It's very complex, and there are things out there sometimes that people don't expect."
Using tools as simple as fishing rods and as powerful as 2 million gallons of gushing water, Baltimore emergency workers worked through the night Saturday to remove all but the faintest whiff of the chemical by yesterday morning.
Downtown streets reopened to traffic by late yesterday morning, and officials expected to have three traffic signals that were darkened by the blasts working for today's morning rush hour.
The main task ahead is detective work, as officials try to determine what caused three 300-pound manhole covers near the intersection of Pratt and Light streets to shoot up to four feet in the air about 5:15 a.m. Saturday.
No one was injured, and officials said the chemical did no environmental harm to the Inner Harbor. A boom and absorbent pads contained and collected any tripropylene that flowed into the water.
City Public Works Director George L. Winfield said it is not clear how the tripropylene ignited or how it wound up in the sewers in the first place.
On Saturday, Public Works Department spokesman Robert Murrow said the train tunnel's drainage system was separate from the city's sewer system. But yesterday, Murrow said CSX officials had informed the city of a connection.
"There is a link from the tunnel to the storm drain," Murrow said. "CSX told us."
Robert L. Gould, a CSX spokesman, said the tunnel's drainage system connects to the sewers about 600 feet to 700 feet south of the intersection of Lombard and Howard streets.
"We and the state had tested [the connection area] during the [train] incident and yesterday tested again to see if there was a presence of that product, and none was noted," Gould said. "Obviously, we're going to continue to cooperate to try to get to the source of it.
"Obviously that's one logical source that officials would be looking at, but as expansive as the city sewer system is and as common as the chemical is, it's extremely premature to jump to any conclusions," Gould said.
"You do have industry in the area that uses this chemical" for the manufacture of plastics and petroleum products, added Gould, who said he did not know the companies by name.
Some forms of the chemical have a flash point as low as 75 degrees, meaning its vapor can explode when exposed to flame at that temperature, Baltimore Fire Department spokesman Michael M. Maybin said.
Winfield said it is possible that Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. electrical lines running through the sewer could have caused a spark, but he said that had not been determined.
"We're going to take a look to see if our equipment could have been involved," said Karl Neddenien, a spokesman for BGE.
Winfield also said it was possible that recent rains played a role, because the water washes through storm drains. On Friday, Baltimore received 0.64 inches of rain, which at that point was most substantial single rainfall since the train accident.
