Posted on 01/06/2005 8:37:59 AM PST by Peach
AP Photo/Aiken Standard, Michael Gibbons Hazardous material workers head to the scene where two Norfolk Southern freight trains collided early Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005, in Grantville, spilling a hazardous chemical and sending dozens of people to a decontamination site in Aiken. More photos...
One dead, 70 treated after chemical spill that followed train crash
AMY GEIER EDGAR
Associated Press
GRANITEVILLE, S.C. - Aiken County officials have confirmed one person has died and at least 70 were injured when two trains crashed here Thursday morning and spilled a hazardous chemical.
Sheriff's Lt. Michael Frank did not give details of who was killed or how they died. He said 70 people have been treated at Aiken Regional Medical Center. All but about 20 were released; some were admitted to intensive care units, Frank said.
A Norfolk Southern freight train with two locomotives and 42 rail cars struck a locomotive with two rail cars parked at a siding at Avondale Mills, said railroad spokesman Robin Chapman.
Chapman said three cars on the moving train were carrying chlorine and there was a release of the gas. He did not know where the train was going.
Two crew members on that train were taken to a hospital after inhaling chlorine. No one was aboard the parked train, Chapman said.
One of the loose cars struck a tree, knocked it onto a car and trapped a woman inside for about two hours, Frank said. The woman was removed and taken to a hospital for treatment. Her condition was unavailable.
National Transportation Safety Board spokeswoman Lauren Peduzzi said the agency will investigate the accident. A team of investigators was set to leave Washington around noon.
There were at least three hazardous chemicals on the train, Berry said, but officials were most concerned about the chlorine gas, which affects respiratory and central nervous systems. It can damage the throat, nose, eyes and can cause death. Berry said the gas has a strong odor and is heavier than air so it stays close to the ground.
Frank said emergency workers had found Graniteville residents walking outdoors and warned them to stay inside. Temperatures in the area were well above average with overnight lows in the 50s and highs in the mid-70s Thursday, so residents were told to close their doors and windows and shut off air-conditioning or heating systems.
Light winds Thursday afternoon could spread the chlorine to areas beyond the crash site but also could help lessen the danger by dissipating the gas, Berry said.
The National Weather Service recommended that people within a two-mile radius of the crash site stay indoors and keep their air-ventilation systems off.
Douglas Brown, 44, lives two streets away from the railroad tracks. He said he heard a boom that shook his house and heard the sound of metal dragging about 2:30 a.m.
Brown got in his car and drove to the site of the crash. He said he saw a fog over the ground.
"You could smell it real good, it made your tongue numb, your throat get sore and your eyes get dry," Brown said.
Deputies sent him to the University of South Carolina-Aiken campus to be decontaminated. Brown said his wife and two children were at home but were not asked to leave.
Officials did not know how many people had been decontaminated at USC-Aiken and Midland Valley High School.
At the university, two tents were set up. In one tent, people exposed to the chemicals removed their clothes and were washed down. They then moved to a second tent where they were given medical attention. Some were sent to the hospital.
Update. Although we were told the 9:00 press conference was the last update until tomorrow morning, NTSB has been giving a 20 minute update.
The crash site is still considered a "Hot Zone" and NTSB is unable to approach it at this time. They don't know when they will be able to approach it.
More deaths are expected, per our local news.
Well, hate to be harsh, but someone was a world-class idiot who followed 2 other cars past flashing railroad warning lights and in front of a train, killing 4 of their friends or family. Also read that the train which struck that car was just 2 cars long, and would have blocked the crossing for just a few seconds.
Exactly so. The railroad has been harshly criticized in this area by the whiners in our population. They bear no responsibility in that November crash. It was a terrible accident that occurred only because the driver was dumb.
We live just a few blocks from THREE grade crossings - two gated, one little used one that leads to a short dead end street with one blind approach and just the old white sawbucks. The Paces Ferry crossing is at one end of our neighborhood, the Woodland Brook crossing at the other, and Paradise Shoals (the unlighted crossing) right in the middle. I cross one of them at least twice every day, and sometimes far more often. I respect the heck out of them.
Heard from one of my neighbors about an incident that happened before we moved here. Fellow was in a hurry to get home from work, jumped the gate at Paces Ferry, and was hit and killed instantly by the locomotive, which pushed his car about three quarters of a mile down the track and off an embankment into his own back yard. His wife found him in the wreckage. My neighbor said, "She was never right after that . . . "
Folks, think before you jump the gate.
More years than I like to think about, I was station at Aberdeen, MD. A passenger train hit a car on a crossing at 80mph cutting the car into right at the dash board. The driver sat in his car and watched an entire passenger train go through his car. He was a little shook up.
I wonder how close it was to shift change when the first train backed into the siding? I think your guess is correct. We had a simular accident at Radford Army Ammunition Plant about 1972. A train off the main line got switched into the plant.
That was during the short period when they tried to fold Chemical Corps into Ordnance.
Suited me, I was in school in NJ and Aberdeen was a lot closer than Ft Rucker.
I think it will be #3, too, vic. Simple human error.
Schools are closed in Aiken County today (Friday).
This is the largest county (geographically) in South Carolina.
I just saw an update on Fox. Still the 8 fatality count and 200-some affected by the gas. Any updates out as far as the clean up?
Good morning.
No word on clean-up whatsoever which is the most disturbing thing. There will be another update coming some time after 8:00 so perhaps there will be news at that time.
All schools in Aiken county closed today.
That is because of Bush Field, they have a little bit better set up in Augusta.
There was a briefing about an hour ago which I missed so I just caught the recap at noon.
There are patients in over four hospitals; some in serious, grave and critical condition. There are still 13 in critical condition.
There is a mill worker missing and people in hazmat suits are looking for him.
The area is still a Hot Zone. We were warned there could be a secondary release of fumes/gas. I don't know what they are basing this on.
The curfew will be in effect for Graniteville again this evening.
Bush's fault. He hates the environment and wants to kill children. Must be him.
He caused the recent tsunami and earthquake with global warming - Howard Dean said so, so it must be true.
what time is the curfew and any updates?
Curfew is from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
No updates; the crash site is still a Hot Zone and neither hazmat nor NTSB can get near it. Leak still happening. We've been warned a secondary release of chlorine gas may occur today (I don't know why they think that).
NTSB Press Conference Update:
The NTSB and FBI were able to approach the crash site this afternoon. They could not get very close and had to wear Haz Mat gear because the crash site is still deemed a Hot Zone.
An announcement will be made in an hour; the press thinks the evacuation radius will expand.
So far 50-60 tons of the 90 tons have leaked out. The leak continues.
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