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The Graniteville train disaster is an American rail disaster that occured on January 6 2005 in Graniteville, South Carolina.
The disaster occured at roughly 2:40am Eastern Standard Time, when two trains owned by Norfolk Southern collided near an Avondale Mills plant in Graniteville. One train was parked on a side track near the Avondale Mills plant; due to an improperly-set rail switch, the other train, which was transporting chlorine gas, sodium hydroxide and cresol, was diverted to the side track and collided with the parked train. The collision resulted in the destruction of both trains, and ruptured a chlorine gas tank, which resulted in the release of at least 90 tons of the gas into the environment. Nine people died and at least 250 people were treated due to chlorine exposure.
Fifty-four hundred residents within a mile of the crash site were forced to evacuate for nearly two weeks while hazmat teams and cleanup crews decontaminated the area.
List of fatalities
The following people lost their lives in the Graniteville train disaster:
- Christopher Seeling, 28, of West Columbia, South Carolina, engineer of through train
- Willie C. Shealey, 43, of Graniteville, employee of Avondale Mills, Inc.
- John Laird, 24, of North Augusta, South Carolina, employee of Avondale Mills, Inc.
- Rusty Rushton, 58, of Ridge Spring, South Carolina, employee of Avondale Mills, Inc.
- Steven Bagby, 38, of Augusta, Georgia, employee of Avondale Mills, Inc.
- Joseph L. Stone, of Quebec, Canada
- Tony DeLoach, 56, of Graniteville
Economic consequences
Norfolk Southern Corporation has announced that it expects the disaster to cost in the range of $30 to $40 million (pretax). The monetary amount includes Norfolk Southerns self-insurance retention under its insurance policies, as well as other uninsured costs. The amount does not include any fines or penalties that might be imposed.
Recommendations
As a result of this accident and a similar accident on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway on January 8 2005, the United States Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released to railroads a reminder of federal regulations on procedures for turnout operation and safety procedures. Among the federal rules regarding turnouts are:
- The normal position for turnouts on mainline tracks is for mainline through traffic.
- When trains are required to clear the mainline track, they will not report that the track is clear until there are no obstructions on the mainline track and all turnouts are set for the mainline position and locked in place.
The FRA further recommended that railroads should:
- ensure that their internal regulations include adequate safety procedures regarding turnout position.
- implement a paper trail to ensure adequate inspection of turnout position before a mainline track is declared cleared.
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