(The Henderson Gleaner posted the following story by Beth Smith on its website on July 17.)
HENDERSON, Ky. — Representatives of CSX, Henderson’s Emergency Management Agency, Brenntag Mid-South Inc. and other officials will meet today for a “question and answer” session about three local train derailments involving hazardous materials in the last three months.
“We want to hash through what happened and anything we can do to keep this from happening again,” said Larry Koerber, director of the local EMA.
CSX officials asked for the meeting, Koerber said, which isn’t about assigning blame for the derailments on April 15, June 25 and July 9.
“We’re just addressing some concerns,” he said.
Gary Sease, a spokesman with CSX, said officials wanted to keep everyone informed of the investigation process.
“We want to provide a full accounting and update on what we’re doing to investigate the derailments,” he said. “And what we hope to do in the future.”
In each incident, train cars carrying hazardous chemicals to Brenntag came off the tracks.
There were no leaks in any of the three derailments — two of which occurred at the rail crossing on South Green Street near Gibbs Die Casting.
The first derailment on April 15 and the most recent one on July 9 took place at that crossing on South Green.
The second incident on June 25 occurred at the crossing on Clay Street near Atkinson when train cars came off the tracks by a few inches but did not roll.
In the incident on July 9, the cars turned over onto their sides. One of the cars was carrying chlorine and this prompted authorities to evacuate several homes as a precaution.
There was no further information about the derailment on April 15. Sease said investigations into the derailments have not been completed.
Koerber said today’s meeting with CSX is “a critique of what went right and what went wrong. We wanted the key players there (at the meeting) to know what to do better next time.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Henry Lackey generated a letter to CSX officials expressing his own concerns about the derailments.
In the letter, Lackey requested CSX to “undertake a rigorous analysis into the cause of the derailments.”
During an interview, Lackey said he wants “assurance that (CSX) is doing something about this.”
Sease said CSX had received Lackey’s letter.
“The letter frames up Mayor Lackey’s concerns,” Sease said. “And those (concerns) were already clear to us.”