hazardous materials News

Cleanup Begins After Freight Train Derailment, Fire in Maine

SANDWICH ACADEMY GRANT TOWNSHIP, Maine (AP) — Railway owner Canadian Pacific Kansas City is leading cleanup and track repairs following a freight train derailment and fire in Maine that sent three railway workers to the hospital for treatment, officials said …

Norfolk Southern Shareholders Sue over Ohio Derailment

Norfolk Southern Corp. shareholders have accused the railroad of defrauding them by prioritizing profit over safety prior to last month’s derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. In a lawsuit filed on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, …

Senate Leader Schumer Urges Federal Safety Probe into Freight Railroads

WASHINGTON —U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday urged the National Transportation Safety Board to launch an investigation into safety practices of all seven major freight railroads, following the East Palestine, Ohio derailment. The companies, in addition to Norfolk …

NTSB: Train Crew Got Safety Alert Just Before Derailment

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — The crew operating a freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, did not receive a critical warning about an overheated axle until just before dozens of cars went off the tracks, federal safety investigators …

Two Train Derailments Have Similar Risks, Different Outcomes

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Police Chief Jason Wright feared the worst as he rushed to the scene of a freight train derailment in Michigan’s Van Buren Township, mindful of a fiery rail crash this month in Ohio that led …

Jeers, Boos from Ohio Villagers Enraged by Toxic Train Spill

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Residents of the Ohio village upended by a freight train derailment packed a gymnasium demanding reassurances after toxic chemicals spilled and burned in a huge plume over their homes and businesses. “I have three grandbabies,” …

Safety Board: Mechanical Defect Caused Ohio Train Wreck

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — A mechanical issue with a rail car axle caused the fiery derailment of dozens of freight cars in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line Friday night, federal investigators announced Sunday. The smoldering tangle of cars, …

North Carolina Signs Off on Testing at Plant Fire Site

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) _ A North Carolina environmental agency has approved a plan to test the soil and groundwater for contamination at the site of a massive fertilizer-plant fire in January. Montrose Engineering and Geology laid out its plans in …

Pipeline Spills 300,000 Gallons of Diesel Near New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP)–A severely corroded pipeline ruptured and spilled more than 300,000 gallons (1.1 million liters) of diesel fuel just outside New Orleans after the operator delayed needed repairs, according to federal records. Most of the fuel drained into two …

Rough Seas Hamper Sri Lankan Divers Examining Sinking Ship

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Rough seas and poor underwater visibility are hampering navy divers who are trying to detect any fuel leakage from a fire-ravaged container ship carrying chemicals that is slowly sinking off Sri Lanka’s capital, officials said …