CHEMICALS SPILLED, 2 INJURED, AS TRAIN DERAILS IN SOUTH CAROLINA
January 28, 2015
ALLENDALE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA:
A CSX train derailed in Allendale County, South Carolina, on
Tuesday morning, injuring two crew members and spilling hazardous chemicals.
Details on what chemicals were spilled have not yet been
released, but the Savannah Riverkeeper, Tonya Bonitatibus, said that they were
believed to be an acid and a base.
The hazardous substances may have spilled into a wetland
next to Three Run Creek, a tributary of the Savannah River.
Federal and state officials are investigating the scene.
Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency went to the site and
were coordinating with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
CBS affiliate WRDW reported that the damage should not
affect local drinking water supplies, because the derailment happened in a
remote area with a lot of drinking water wells. But the chemical spill could
have a serious impact on the creeks and river nearby.
"If it does enter the waterway it will drop the pH
pretty quickly and that will kill most of the things in it," Bonitatibus
explained.
Workers at the nearby Archroma U.S. Inc. plant, which makes
colored paper and textiles, said that the train took a wrong turn and crashed
into two stationary rail cars. The lead locomotive turned on its side during
the derailment. Both crew members were taken to a local hospital with non
life-threatening injuries.
Roads were closed as hazardous-materials teams and other
emergency personnel responded to the accident. WRDW said Wednesday morning that
Highway 125 in Allendale County had since been reopened but the smaller side
roads closer to the crash site were expected to remain closed for several days.