(The following article by James Bruggers was posted on the Courier-Journal website on October 26.)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Norfolk Southern spokeswoman apologized yesterday for the chemical spill Sunday that prompted the evacuation of 200 homes in the Petersburg Estates subdivision for more than six hours.
The spill also sent about a dozen people to the hospital for observation. Authorities initially thought just two people had been taken to a hospital.
“We apologize for the inconvenience that this incident caused to the local residents,” said Susan Terpay, the spokeswoman.
“We are going to find out what occurred and prevent it from happening again,” she said.
The company worked yesterday to clean up about 100 gallons of thioglycol, an industrial solvent that escaped from a leaky valve on a tank that had been removed from a rail car Sunday afternoon at a Norfolk Southern terminal on Jennings Lane, officials said.
Terpay said four railroad employees, six private contractors and two trespassers were treated at a hospital and released.
Steve Adkins, deputy chief of the Camp Taylor Fire Protection District, which responded to the spill, said his department eventually learned of 11 people who needed decontamination and medical observation.
Terpay said the exact cause of the spill was unclear, but local fire and emergency officials said it appears a valve was damaged while the tank was removed from the rail car.
Norfolk Southern does not believe any of the chemical leaked while the tank was being transported to Louisville, she said.
A local hazardous materials ordinance requires the company to reimburse local officials for the cost of the response.
Terpay said the company would do so.
A reimbursement figure hasn’t been released.
Thioglycol has a very strong odor that can sicken people, said Brad Learn, assistant director of the Louisville Metro Emergency Management Agency.
The solvent can be toxic if inhaled or ingested, according to a guidebook for emergency officials.