CSX Train Derailment: 1 of 27 Cars Carrying Hazardous Material

CSX issued the following press release concerning an early morning train derailment in Maryville that impacted around 5,000 people within a two mile radius of the incident:

CSX is working with first responders and relief agencies in Maryville, Tenn., following the derailment of a tank car that is on fire. CSX personnel are on hand at an Outreach Center that has been established at Heritage High School. Displaced residents are being offered assistance, including lodging.

Around midnight, a train en route from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Waycross, Ga., derailed the single tank car loaded with acrylonitrile, a hazardous material used in a variety of industrial processes including the manufacture of plastics. The substance is flammable and presents an inhalation risk. First responders have ordered an evacuation of residences and businesses in a two-mile radius.

The train consists of two locomotives and 57 cars, including 45 loaded cars and 12 empty cars. Cars of acrylonitrile are located on either side of the burning rail car. No crude oil is among the rail cars. A total of 27 cars in the train are carrying hazardous materials.

The derailment has also caused concern regarding the possibility of contaminated well water in the area. Those that live in the area of Robert C. Jackson Drive to Friendsville are cautioned that well water could be contaminated and as a precaution residents should refrain from drinking well water in those areas.