Aiken County Council Chairman asks federal agencies to investigate May train derailment
Jun. 30—Aiken County Council Chairman Gary Bunker is critical of how Norfolk Southern handled the derailment of one of its trains in the Graniteville/Vaucluse area this spring.
And the elected official has expressed his concerns, which he said were shared by fellow County Council members and the community, in letters to the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Railroad Administration.
Bunker asked those agencies earlier this month to investigate the incident "fully and take any and all appropriate actions regarding your findings."
The derailment occurred May 10 and as a result, potash was spilled.
Potash is potassium or a potassium compound used in agriculture and industry.
Bunker specifically addressed his letters to Robert Hall, director of the Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations for the National Transportation Safety Board, and Karl Alexy, associate administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer for the Federal Railroad Administration.
According to Bunker, the site of the derailment was near "one of the major Bridgestone Americas tire manufacturing plants" located in Sage Mill Industrial Park.
"There are two primary concerns we want to convey," Bunker wrote. "First, neither Aiken County Emergency Management, nor the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, was notified by Norfolk Southern of the accident.
"Aiken County dispatch was also not contacted so that appropriate emergency responders could be notified of any needed response," Bunker added.
County government officials didn't know about the derailment until May 25 "after the contractor hired to clean up the spill began storing the material on the side of the road near the Vaucluse Post Office and Vaucluse Pond," according to Bunker.
Secondly, he wrote, while Norfolk Southern "was waiting on equipment to place the rail car(s) back on track, two frequently used intersections were blocked and inaccessible to the traveling public.
"More importantly," Bunker added, "this prevented emergency vehicles from crossing the track had they been needed in the area."
Bunker further wrote that Norfolk Southern's failure to notify Aiken County Emergency Management was "unacceptable" and he described potash as "a hazardous material."
Bunker also mentioned the collision involving two Norfolk Southern trains 18 years ago in Graniteville.
"This community still lives with the vivid memory of the Norfolk Southern crash that occurred on January 6, 2005, leaving nine dead from chlorine poisoning and causing the evacuations of hundreds of residents," Bunker wrote.
The Aiken Standard contacted Norfolk Southern and received a response from Connor Spielmaker, a spokesperson for the company. He said the company followed its usual procedures following the incident.
"Frequently, when Norfolk Southern has a minor derailment, we do not make an emergency call," Spielmaker wrote. "In fact, most derailments are minor, do not affect property beyond our own, do not impact the public and do not require an emergency response. We would not want to unnecessarily tie up important community resources.
"More importantly, I know there was some initial confusion as to what the material was, and that it may have been hazardous — but that was not the case," Spielmaker continued. "Potash is not a DOT (Department of Transportation)-defined hazardous material. It was stored on top of a tarp, covered and removed shortly after."
Spielmaker also mentioned Norfolk Southern's efforts to provide information following the May 10 derailment and in general.
"I understand our Government Relations team had spoken to some local officials when this first came up ... and we take pride in keeping those lines of communications open," he wrote. "That said, we know that there is extra sensitivity around railroad transportation at the moment, and [we] are exploring ways to further improve our communication with local officials and first responders."
