Saturday, January 31, 2015

UPDATE: 19,000 GALLONS OF HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND ACIDIC SOLUTIONS WERE SPILLED OUT OF RAIL CARS AFTER A TRAIN DERAILED TUESDAY.











 

UPDATE: 19,000 GALLONS OF HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND ACIDIC SOLUTIONS WERE SPILLED OUT OF RAIL CARS AFTER A TRAIN DERAILED TUESDAY.


Train derails, chemical spills in South Carolina

Friday, Jan. 30, 2015

ALLENDALE CO., S.C. (WRDW) -- A CSX employee is saying the cause of the train derailment is still under investigation tonight.

The names of the workers who were injured on the train are not being released at this time, according to CSX.

Today, Hazmat, contractors, and environmental remediation crews were on scene, Kristin Seay with CSX said.

A scrap metal company will come in and scrap some of the cars and the rest will be removed. Most of the cars have been rerailed at this time and some will be transported to other CSX facilities, Seay said.


Friday, Jan. 30, 2015

ALLENDALE CO., SC (WRDW) -- CSX and Savannah River Site emergency response personnel are working to clean up 19,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid and acidic solutions that were spilled out of rail cars after a train derailed Tuesday.

Today, the Savannah Riverkeeper released a statement that included she surveyed the area from an airplane Thursday afternoon.

Following her flight, Tonya Bonitatibus stated cleanup efforts appear to be underway and that crews have made significant progress in removing contaminated dirt and rebuilding the railway.

There appears to be evidence of acid burns to the landscape as well as some debris from the containers, Bonitatibus said.


Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015
ALLENDALE CO., SC (WRDW) -- New reports are out about the train derailment in Allendale County Tuesday. CSX and Savannah River Site emergency response personnel are reporting about 19,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid and acidic solutions were spilled out of the rail cars.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has identified contamination on the lower Three Runs Creek near where the accident took place. 

On top of hydrochloric acid, up to 100 gallons of sodium hydroxide, and approximately 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel were also spilled in the crash.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working with the Savannah Riverkeeper on clean up and damage control. 

An absorbent boom has been placed in the creek to collect the material and, as a precaution, another boom has been placed at the merger of Savannah River and Lower Three Runs Creek, DHEC said.
There is still no confirmation on what caused the train to crash. The FBI is still investigating to find out the cause. Their agents tell us that stretch of track where the crash occurred is owned and operated by CSX.
Remediation will begin once the rail cars have been removed.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

ALLENDALE CO., S.C. (WRDW) -- CSX is now confirming hydrochloric acid did spill out of an overturned train car in Allendale County Tuesday. The company is not commenting on Archroma's claim the conductor took a wrong turn, and crashed into two rail cars parked at the plant.

The clean up is underway at the site of the train crash. In a release from CSX, they say when the train hit the rail cars, diesel fuel was released along with hydrochloric acid.

Savannah Riverkeeper Tonya Bonitatibus has dealt with chemical spills before, but none quite like this. "I've dealt with a lot of spills also, but never have I had FBI or sled or any of these guys show up," she said.

It was a full house Tuesday, and again Wednesday as crews assessed the damage from the crash. And for Bonitatibus, the wait for answers was frustrating. "You have to take precaution but you also have to take care, you have to take care of our waterways and you have to let people know what's going on," the riverkeeper said.

But Wednesday, she saw the affects of the crash for herself. "Our visual survey we didn't see dead fish, we didn't see smoke coming out of the water which can happen with some acid so that's good," Bonitatibus said.

She still has to run the samples to monitor the water, which she says impacts a lot of folks in this town. "This is something that is on my mind everyday. There are fisherman, this is a rural area, there's not a movie theater you can go to, this is a culture completely around the river," she said.

For now, she says it looks safe and CSX is working on the problem as well. "I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had gone all the way to the mouth of the river and put a boom in," she tells News 12.
But she says that's just the beginning of what could be a long process. "They're taking steps in the right direction. It will really be key over the next few days to see what kind of remediation are we talking about and how much damage has been done," she said.
The boom is made of plastic, and will help keep any objects from the crash from going downstream. It doesn't keep out the hydrochloric acid, that will dissolve into the water. But again, the riverkeeper said it doesn't appear too much acid got in the water, and as of now it looks okay.
The FBI is also investigating the crash. Agents tell us that stretch of track is owned and operated by CSX. Investigators are not saying who or what is at fault.

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015
ALLENDALE COUNTY, S.C. (WRDW) -- The train company, CSX, has released a statement about Tuesday's train derailment involving a train heading from Savannah to Atlanta.

In statement from CSX, the company confirms the lead train turned on its side and hydrochloric acid spilled on the ground.

CSX is working with state agencies to test the water and air. Containment materials including hard booms have been placed in the wetlands, according to the statement.

There is currently no adverse impact on air quality, according to South Carolina Emergency Management Division.

The cause of the derailment is still under investigation, CSX said.
The plant near the train, Archroma, has said the train took a wrong turn and derailed.


Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015
ALLENDALE COUNTY, S.C. (WRDW) -- South Carolina Emergency Management officials said Highway 125 in Allendale County was reopened Tuesday night after a early morning train derailment.
Officials said CSX crews will be working overnight on cleanup, and the smaller side roads closer to the crash site will remain closed for days.
CSX said the two men taken to Doctors Hospital were train crew members and had non life-threatening injuries. They are still investigating the cause of the accident.


News 12 @ 6 o'clock / Tuesday, January 27, 2015
ALLENDALE CO., S.C. (WRDW) -- Crews from DHEC, South Carolina EMA, and even the FBI are on the scene of a train derailment and chemical spill in Allendale County. The train was on its way from savannah to Atlanta around 2:30 this morning, when it derailed outside the Archroma Plant. That plant was evacuated and multiple roads shut down.
The company says a CSX train took a wrong turn and hit two parked rail cars. Two men were injured in the accident, and taken to Doctor's Hospital.
Glenda Dotson was up much earlier than normal this morning. "Well when I heard it, it woke me up at two o'clock this morning. And I was listening to try to figure out what was going on," she said.
It was a train crash, just down the road from her home. "I knew I shouldn't go down there and get in something I couldn't avoid myself," Dotson said.
Dotson has been with the Allendale Fire Department for more than thirty years. She's been in a lot of dangerous situations, but none like this, and none in her own backyard. "I guess you keep putting things in the back of your mind like oh that won't happen to me but I guess eventually one day it may," she said.
Savannah Riverkeeper Tonya Bonitatibus is concerned over what chemicals could have been spilled from the crash, possibly hydrochloric acid. "My big concern is that there are a lot of creeks over here it's right near the river. So I need confirmation on whether this has entered the water way, if so this could cause a lot of damage," Bonitatibus said.
The damage shouldn't affect drinking water, because it's a remote area with a lot of drinking wells, but it could be bad for the creeks and river nearby. "So if it does enter the waterway it will drop the ph pretty quickly and that will kill most of the things in it," the riverkeeper said.
Bonitatibus says the good news in this situation, the area is very rural, so folks who live close by should be safe right where they are, something Dotson was happy to hear. "I was listening to see if we had to make a run for it but thank goodness we didn't," Dotson said.
It could take days to get this cleaned up. First they have to finalize exactly what chemical, or chemicals spilled. Investigators believe they're dealing with hydrochloric acid, because that's what the two workers were exposed to, who went to the hospital. Experts say hydrochloric acid can be neutralized in the air.
Augusta HWY 125, HWY 3, and Revolutionary Trail are still shut down, around fifteen hours after the crash happened. Crews expect those roads to remain closed for quite a while. We reached out to leaders at CSX to get their response about their train being at fault for possibly taking a wrong turn, but we have not heard back.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015
ALLENDALE COUNTY, S.C. (WRDW) -- In a statement, Archroma says a CSX train took a wrong turn. The train crashed into stationary rail cars being used by the plant.
Two people have been sent to the hospital with injuries after the train derailed in Martin, South Carolina in what's now being considered an active scene.
Originally, Derrec Becker with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, told News 12 the scene was being considered a crime scene.
CSX says around 2:20 a.m. one of their trains was traveling from Savannah to Atlanta when it derailed. They say the lead locomotive turned on its side during the derailment. The two crew members on board were both taken to Doctor's Hospital in Augusta.
Officials confirm there was a hazardous chemical spilled, but it is now contained. A hazmat team is working to learn if the chemical spill came from the train or the train cars.
Officials say they believe it's a hydrochloric spill because the two crew members are having difficulty breathing after being exposed to hydrochloride, but they were taken to the hospital because of injuries related to the accident, emergency officials said.
It's very common to have this many agencies respond to a situation like this including the FBI, according to officials on scene. Right now, the FBI is there to assist SLED and CSX. SLED is using a chopper for aerial surveillance of the scene, officials said.
The Archroma plant was evacuated at the time of the crash, but workers are back on the job. Right now, crews are trying to check to check the area to see how they can get it cleaned up because they are still unsure of what the substance is that spilled, officials on scene said.
Crews on scene are trying to get as close as they can without gear on. They will then see how far they can get with gear on and assess the clean-up from there. There are no other major evacuations have been done because it is a rural area, officials said.
Several roads in the area remain shut down, including part of Augusta Hwy 125, Hwy 3 and Revolutionary Trail onto Hwy 3.
American Red Cross disaster-trained volunteers are assisting emergency response crews.
Allendale County Emergency Management Agency asked Red Cross to help. Red Cross says they are providing meals, snacks, and hydration to more than 40 emergency responders.
News 12 is on scene, stay with us for updates.

JANUARY 27, 2015
MARTIN, S.C. -- A train has derailed and chemicals leaked from a car in Allendale County, but no widespread evacuations have been ordered. Derrec Becker with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division says the scene is now being considered a crime scene, reports CBS Augusta, Georgia affiliate WRDW-TV.
Deputies told media outlets that the train ran off the tracks around 2:40 a.m. Tuesday in Martin, which is about 12 miles northwest of Allendale on state Highway 125.
Authorities evacuated the nearby Archroma plant, which makes colored paper and textiles. No homes in the area were evacuated.
Deputies say two people on the train were hurt and were taken to a hospital in Augusta, Georgia. Their conditions were not known.
Authorities say the spill site is still being cleaned up. Investigators have not figured out why the train left the tracks.
Officials confirmed there was a hazardous chemical spilled, but it is now contained, WRDW reported. A hazmat team was on the scene.
The station reports that several roads were blocked off by officers at the scene of the derailment.