Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Tennessee train fire investigated

On Friday, investigators were looking into what caused a freight train carrying flammable and toxic gas to derail and catch fire in Tennessee, triggering the daylong evacuation of 5,000 people, officials said.

The flames that engulfed a car of the CSX Corp. train in Blount County, near Maryville in eastern Tennessee, late Wednesday were extinguished by late Thursday, CSX said. The tank car was loaded with about 24,000 gallons of acrylonitrile, a hazardous material used in manufacturing plastics and other industrial processes.

Noxious fumes sent more than 80 people to the hospital, including 10 law enforcement officers who were kept overnight, said Blount County Sheriff's spokeswoman Marian O'Briant.

The EPA was testing air, soil and water samples and "so far everything is looking good there," O'Briant said. Residents were advised not to use well water.

For more of the Reuters story: www.reuters.com


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