It is not possible to clean up all "biohazards" *outdoors in the wild*, which is always filled with sick animals, dead animals, animal waste, human blood, etc. The outdoors is a biohazard and trying to clean it up completely is just fantasy. Sure, you want to collect anything large enough to be identifiable, but fragments and blood are all over the wild. So that's another bogus excuse...
While it may not be possible, attempts are made these days. Depending on the severity, they will even call the fire department in to hose down the area. If Clean Harbors is available, they will suit up and spray the area down.
And anything which is 20 feet away from the tracks doesn't involve closing the tracks. So that's another bogus excuse..
This assumes that there is access to the area without fouling the tracks. If a foul is needed because the site is only accessible from one side, a foul will be granted and the tracks will remain closed under police order.
I buy the need to clean up the train, but that's generally done after it's moved anyway, right? So that's another...
Increasingly, trains are being cleaned at the site depending on the severity and accessibility. Clean Harbors will come directly to the site, put on their hazardous material suits and power wash the equipment with a solution that can only described as foul smelling. It has to be a mixture of bleach or ammonia. Whatever, it is enough to give you a headache.
Then, once the train makes it to the final terminal, the train will make its way to an S&I so they can clean the underside of the train.
From my experience, the delay is often not caused so much by the investigation but by the incredible amount of time it takes the investigators to arrive in the first place.
Indeed. Often, it is not the railroad or police response that lags. The real delay is waiting for the coroner/medical examiner. Apparently, only the coroner/medical examiner can actually confirm and/or certify that the person is indeed deceased...which isn't always necessary in my opinion. I think it is quite obvious to everyone what the outcome of this encounter is. However, you have to wait and this can take time, particularly on weekends.
Last time I was on a train which struck someone, more motor vehicles were still showing up after 2 hours. Perhaps in the old days railroads and municipalities had more instant-response staff?
They don't close a road for two days when someone is killed by a motor vehicle on the road. Therefore they do not need to close a railroad that long. Period. It's got to be some form of understaffing or bad procedure.
Each scene is different and more importantly, each jurisdiction handles these things differently. Remember, this is a police investigation. They pretty much call the shots. If they want a foul or close the railroad, it will remained closed. In this particular case, they branded the entire area a crime scene since this was a wanted individual.
As for the length of the railroad closure, no one closed the railroad for two days. Some scenes have all but the affected track and train reopened at restricted speed in a matter of minutes. Some drag on for hours. It all boils down to the circumstances and impact field.
