(The following Associated Press article was published by television station WAVY on its website on January 12.)
NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in rural Dinwiddie County early Saturday morning, spilling part of its load of a hazardous pesticide.
Twelve of the train’s 63 cars went off the tracks at around 5:30 a.m. near the community of Poole Siding in the western part of the county, said David Jolly, Dinwiddie director for public safety.
No one was injured and no one was affected by the spilled pesticide.
“It was a pretty mild pesticide,” Jolly said. “It did not pose any threat to the nearby residents or the environment.”
State and local police cordoned off the area around the derailment while hazardous material crews cleaned up the spillage. Part of a car carrying 40,000 pounds of the pesticide spilled, Jolly said. Another car carrying a flammable liquid derailed, but did not rupture, he said.
Jolly said workers were trying to reopen one of the two tracks that make up the line by early Sunday morning. The other track may not reopen for a week, he said.
The train was traveling eastbound from Nottoway County to Norfolk. At least 40 of the 63 cars were empty, Jolly said.