By Kris Maher
State police evacuated residents of Mount Carbon, W.V., a small
town near the capital of Charleston Monday, after a train carrying
crude oil derailed, causing a house to catch fire and oil to leak
into the Kanawha River.
At least one tanker car, and possibly more, fell into the river,
prompting concerns about potential contamination of water-treatment
facilities that serve two small downstream communities, said
Lawrence Messina, a spokesman for the West Virginia Department of
Military Affairs and Public Safety.
Lt. Michael Baylous, a spokesman for the state police, said
residents within a half mile of the scene were told to evacuate
until further notice. A shelter had been set up at a nearby
elementary school. He said the train caught fire before destroying
a nearby home.
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of
emergency in Fayette County and neighboring Kanawha County Monday
evening, saying he was doing so to ensure that affected residents
had access to any resources they might need.
Gary Sease, a spokesman for CSX Corp., which operated the train,
said at least one railcar appeared to have ruptured and caught
fire. He said one person was being treated for "potential
inhalation" but no other injuries were reported.
Mr. Sease said the company was working with the Red Cross and
other relief organizations to address the needs of residents who
had been evacuated, including providing shelter amid unusually cold
temperatures.
He said the company was trying to help put out the fire,
determine how many cars had derailed and deploy environmental
monitoring, including in the river. The train consisted of two
locomotives and 109 railcars and was traveling from North Dakota to
Yorktown, Va., Mr. Sease said.
It wasn't clear what caused the derailment. State officials
believe the train derailed at about 1:30 p.m. Monday along the
Kanawha River about 30 miles from Charleston, near Mount Carbon,
W.Va., which has about 400 residents.
State health officials said the intakes for water systems that
serve Montgomery, W.V., and Cedar Grove, W.Va., would be shut as a
precaution. One facility is operated by West Virginia American
Water, whose treatment plant was contaminated early last year by a
chemical spill on the Elk River near Charleston that disrupted
water service for 300,000 residents.
"We're obviously very mindful of that, and the Department of
Health and Human Resources is responding because of the potential
threat to drinking water," Mr. Messina said.
Laura Jordan, a spokeswoman for West Virginia American Water,
said the Montgomery water system serves about 2,000 customers. The
company has asked residents to conserve water. Under normal use,
the system has enough water to keep pipes pressurized for about 12
hours, she said.
Ms. Jordan said the water company doesn't believe the oil spill
has affected its water plant, but it is working with state
officials to determine when its water intake can be reopened.
Each week, about three to four trains carrying crude oil travel
through Fayette County where the accident occurred, according to a
Wall Street Journal analysis late last year of records submitted by
railroads to state officials.
Write to Kris Maher at kris.maher@wsj.com
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