Officials with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the Jefferson Police Department were notified of a liquid being spilled from an eastbound Union Pacific train at approximately 12:18 p.m. yesterday (Monday) and immediately contacted the Iowa Department of Natural Resources hot line. The DNR said they had been made aware of the spill at approximately 10 a.m. and advised the Greene County authorities that the clear liquid was an animal by-product called tallow. The train, which had left Missouri Valley earlier in the morning, was bound for Cedar Rapids and spilled an estimated 30,000 gallons of the product along the way. A cap left off the rail car is responsible for the loss of the liquid.
