A derailed CSX train leaked a flammable chemical and sparked a fire in a rural part of southern Kentucky
on Tuesday, prompting authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order that was later lifted for nearby residents.
No injuries were reported after 31 rail cars derailed at about 6:15 a.m. CST in Todd County, CSX said in a stat
ement. The derailment caused a leak of molten sulfur from one rail car and sparked a fire that was extinguished by late Tuesday morning, the company said.
Crews at the scene were working “as safely and quickly as possible” to clean up the site, it said.
“We appreciate the swift response and coordination of local first responders and emergency management officials,” the company said. “Our prim
ary focus continues to be the health and safety of onsite personnel, the surrounding community and mitigating any potential risk to the environment.”
The chemical substance that leaked can be toxic when it is on fire, the company said. But air quality testing at the derailment site indicated that “everything is good
now” and the shelter-in-place order was lifted, said Ash Groves, emergency management director for Todd County.
Todd County authorities had issued a half-mile shelter-in-place order around the impacted site as a precaution.
The derailment occurred about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) west of downtown Trenton — about 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) northwest of Nashville, Tennessee.
Within 90 minutes, the huge warehouse was ablaze, setting off ex
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plosions and the release of a black, toxic cloud that forced the evacuation of 17,000 people and the closure of hundreds of businesses in and around Conyers, Georgia.
Verlan Fire Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Hanover Insurance Group, paid a $20 million claim brought by Diversitech, an air-conditioning manufacturer and supplier that ha
d an operation about a mile from the Bio-Lab site and which was damaged by the soot and debris. Now, Verlan has filed a subrogation lawsuit in federal court against
Bio-Lab and its parent company, seeking recovery of the paid indemnity and the HVAC firm’s $100,000 deductible.
“This type of fire, explosion, and toxic chemical plume does not occur without Defendants’ negligence,” reads the Verlan complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in North Georgia.