Following Tuesday morning’s train derailment along Kentucky 475/Tress Shop Road near Trenton and its weather radar, Todd County Emergency Management Director Ash Groves called a meeting of all stakeholders — looking to sort through all the moving parts from this near-disaster.
Judge-Executive Todd Mansfield said “several people” were in the room, including CSX and RJ Corman representatives, first responders, contractors, Kentucky Department of Transportation scholars and Kentucky Emergency Management leaders, with everyone seeking solutions.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no injuries had been reported — but 31 cars are off the tracks, including at least two carrying molten sulfur, and one of those cars was completely disintegrated. Cleanup, officials say, will require an indeterminate timetable, and both Tress Shop Road and US 41 between Pembroke and Trenton are shut down until further notice.
A shelter-in-place order for the citizens of Trenton has already been lifted, with Mansfield noting several tests on the site came back “safe.”
Meanwhile, Groves said the cleanup would be done “methodically” and “safely,” with more details pending.
The leaking sulfur, Groves added, has been “well mitigated,” but citizens with questions, concerns or general observations should call a 24-hour CSX hotline at 1-800-232-0144.
Groves also noted that it wasn’t just all local agencies who rose to the cause Tuesday morning.
Incidents like this are the exact reason why fiscal courts typically opt into mutual aid agreements, which serve as formal arrangements between agencies, organizations and municipalities in order to allow joined assistance during emergencies.
Industrially, molten sulfur is burned to produce sulfur dioxide — which can then be converted into sulfuric acid, which is essential for manufacturing phosphate fertilizers, refining petroleum, battery production and chemical processing.
It is also effective in both the rubber and tire industries, mining and metallurgy, and is commonly transported through heated pipelines, railcars and tankers.
Aerial Views From Christian County Hazardous Response Team
CSX & Other Railway Passages In Kentucky
