FEBRUARY 17, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC
Investigators from the National
Transportation Safety Board’s office of Railroad, Pipeline, and Hazardous
Materials are in communication with the Federal Railroad Administration and
CSX emergency response crews since the derailment that occurred in West
Virginia yesterday and will continue to monitor the situation. The FRA and
CSX are providing NTSB investigators with detailed damage reports and
photographs of the derailed tank cars. The investigators will compare the
data with tank car design specifications and similar derailments including
Casselton, North Dakota, on December 30, 2013, and Lynchburg, Virginia, on
April 30, 2014.
On February 16, 2015 at 1:30 PM EST, approximately 28 tank
cars in a 109-tank car CSX crude oil unit train derailed near Mt. Carbon,
West Virginia, 35 miles southeast of Charleston, West Virginia. Some of the
derailed tank cars released an unknown amount of crude oil onto the ground,
which immediately ignited. Some of the crude oil likely entered the river.
Downstream water treatment intakes on the Kanawha River were closed as a
precaution. A one half mile evacuation zone was established around the
derailment. As of Tuesday morning, emergency crews are allowing the fire to
burn itself out. At least one injury is reported. The cause of the derailment
is unknown at this time.
“This accident is another reminder of the need to improve
the safety of transporting hazardous materials by rail,” said NTSB Acting
Chairman Christopher A. Hart. “That is why this issue is included on our Most
Wanted List. If we identify any new safety concerns as a result of this
derailment, the Board will act expeditiously to issue new safety
recommendations.”
Additional information on rail tank car safety and the
Most Wanted List can be found at: http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl5_2015.aspx
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