hazardous materials News

Failed Wheel Bearing Caused Ky. Train Derailment but Didn’t Trigger Alarms, CSX Says

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A failed wheel bearing on a train car caused a derailment that sparked a chemical fire and forced residents of a small town in Kentucky out of their homes for just over a day, including most …

Explosion, Inspections Raise Safety Questions About Union Pacific

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal inspectors have twice found hundreds of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific uses at the world’s largest railyard in Nebraska, but none of those seem to explain why a shipping container filled with …

Investigation Continues into Deadly Central Illinois Truck Crash that Caused Toxic Chemical Leak

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Authorities resumed their investigation Sunday of a central Illinois truck crash that killed five people, injured five others and prompted an evacuation for hundreds of residents after a toxic chemical leak. The tanker truck, which was …

Taiwan Golf Ball Maker Fined After Fatal Fire for Storing 30 Times Limit for Hazardous Material

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan authorities fined a golf ball manufacturer 2.4 million New Taiwan dollars ($75,000) on Monday and warned of criminal charges for storing 30 times the legal limit of hazardous material and other violations after a major …

Train Derailment in Northern Montana Spills Freight, but Hazmat Car Safe

HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — A train derailment in northern Montana spilled freight and left 25 cars tangled up along a major east-west railroad corridor but caused no injuries. The accident comes less than a month after a railroad bridge collapse …

Fire Triggers Explosions at Louisiana Chemical Plant as Residents Warned to Stay Indoors for Hours

PLAQUEMINE, La. (AP) — A fire at a Louisiana chemical plant triggered explosions that shook homes several miles away and sent flames and smoke billowing into the air, prompting emergency officials to urge a few hundred nearby residents to shelter …

States Clamp Down on Freight Trains, Fearing Derailments and Federal Gridlock

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Spurred on by train derailments, some states with busy criss-crossing freight railroads are pursuing their own safety remedies rather than wait for federal action amid industry opposition and questions about whether they even have authority to …

Decisions Made After Fiery Ohio Train Derailment Being Examined at NTSB Hearing

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The fire chiefs whose departments were the first on scene of February’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio agree that firefighters need more training about hazardous chemicals, but that it would be hard for them ever …

New Rule Would Make Railroads Alert First Responders Within 10 Miles of Derailed Train Cargo

ATLANTA (AP) – Federal regulators want first responders to a train derailment to know exactly what they are dealing with even before they reach the scene, because the dangerous chemicals trains carry might require a specialized response. So the Pipelines …

$3.4M Fine Proposed over 2021 California Oil Pipeline Leak

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An energy company should be fined nearly $3.4 million for safety violations involving a 2021 oil pipeline spill that fouled Southern California beaches, a federal regulator said. Amplify Energy Corp. ignored 83 alarms indicating the offshore …