Global Courant
A hazardous materials train derailed Saturday and a bridge collapsed into a river in southern Montana Saturday, sending train cars into the water and raising concerns about contamination.
Some of those fears may have been allayed by evening when railroad officials said two cars known to be carrying sodium hydrosulfate, which can burn, irritate and cause shortness of breath, had failed to enter the Yellowstone River under the faulty bridge that used to span the river. . waterway.
No hazardous materials had been released from those particular train cars, Montana Rail Link spokesman Andy Garland said.
But an undetermined number of other cars containing molten sulfur and asphalt had been “compromised,” he said in a statement.
Several train cars submerged in the Yellowstone River after a bridge collapsed near Columbus, Mont., on Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)Matthew Brown/AP
Officials would continue to monitor the derailment site, he said.
There were no injuries, officials said.
As many as eight cars were derailedColumbus, Montana, Fire Chief Rich Cowger told NBC affiliate KULR of Billings.
Billings said it would close off the city water system’s inlet, fed by the Yellowstone River, for the time each contaminant would have to pass and end up downstream, according to a statement.
Billings, a city of nearly 110,000, has clean drinking water in its system, including storage tanks that are full, it said.
Laurel, Montana, suspended intake from the river and temporarily closed its water treatment plant Saturday morning, but a few hours later it reconnected the supply and restarted treatment, officials said in a statement.
Laurel officials visited the derailment site and examined the water system, the statement said.
Water treatment plants in Yellowstone County were operating normally while officials monitored the river for signs of contaminants, county officials said in a statement.
“At this time, no adverse impacts to Yellowstone County have been reported,” the government said in an afternoon statement.
The bridge derailment and collapse happened around 6 a.m. near the community of Reed Point, according to officials in Stillwater County, which borders Yellowstone County. The bridge over the Yellowstone River was described as a railroad bridge in the statement Saturday.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement Saturday night that it is sending an investigation team to the derailment site. The Federal Railroad Administration is leading the investigation, the NTSB said.
It was not immediately clear whether the collapse or derailment occurred first or what caused it.
Asphalt contains carcinogens and has been linked to some cancers. Molten sulfur can cause severe thermal burns on contact and will form toxic and flammable gases in response to hydrocarbon, a compound at the heart of fossil fuels.
Courtney Brogle, Joe Kottke and Todd Miyazawa contributed.
