Chem train fire still burning in Kentucky

16 January 2007 19:32  [Source: ICIS news]

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HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Railcars carrying chemicals continued to burn on Tuesday afternoon after a derailment south of Louisville in Kentucky, local officials said.

Rail company CSX said 20 CSX cars, including 12 hazardous materials cars, derailed on Tuesday morning. CSX said the cause of the accident was not known.

Butadiene, cyclohexane, maleic anhydride and methyl ethyl ketone were among the materials in the derailed cars.

Larry Coy, lieutenant colonel for the Bullitt County Sheriffs Department said there was a voluntary evacuation for 1,500 nearby residents. The fire was still blazing as of early afternoon, officials said.

Officials decided to let the fire burn out instead of fighting it, said Major Lisa Rudzinski with the Kentucky State Police.

The fire was the second rail-related chemical accident in Kentucky this week.

On Monday, four runaway CSX railroad cars near Irvine hit a locomotive, resulting in a butyl acetate leak and fire. It forced the evacuation of nearby residents, officials said.

By: Mark Quiner
+1 713 525 2653

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