Thirty-one train cars, including one carrying molten sulfur, were involved in a CSX train derailment on Tuesday morning in Todd County, Kentucky.
The derailment occurred just after 7 a.m. local time near the rural city of Trenton, near the Tennessee border; no injuries were reported, according to CSX. The car carrying molten sulfur caught fire, leaking the chemical into the air and prompting officials to instate a shelter-in-place order for Trenton. The order was lifted at approximately 11 a.m. local time, authorities said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that officials from the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration were heading to the scene to investigate on Tuesday at around noon.
Todd Mansfield, Todd County’s judge-executive, thanked local emergency services for their quick response.
“We’re very, very thankful that this incident happened approximately a mile west of here, from downtown Trenton. Trenton’s a small community, but had the event happened right here, it could have been catastrophic,” Mansfield said.
Molten sulfur is a reddish-yellow liquefied sulfur used in fertilizers, paper manufacturing, and to extract metals from ores. It can cause thermal burns on human skin and, when it burns, releases toxic sulfur dioxide gas. That gas is a severe irritant to human skin, eyes, and respiratory tracts.
When the train derailed, the molten sulfur spill and fire caused a plume of smoke at the scene, Ash Groves, Todd County emergency management director, said. Groves said the CSX hazmat team stopped the chemical leak and noted the air quality in the area is now safe.
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“They did air sampling at the site, there at the car, and then away from the car, and all came back good,” Groves said.
Groves confirmed that the cause of the derailment is currently under investigation.
