Crews in Rockcastle County are continuing cleanup efforts after a 16-car train derailment caused a chemical fire last Wednesday.
Railroad company CSX says a failed wheel bearing caused the derailment. Two cars carrying molten sulphur were ruptured, causing a potentially toxic fire that was put out Thursday.
Rockcastle County Judge Executive Howell Holbrook says the recovered railcars have been taken to a nearby waste disposal area. The railroad tracks have also been repaired and service has continued as of Sunday evening.
“They're going to disassemble and take them apart and scrap them out,” Holbrook said. “What they can't sell at the scrap yards, they will haul to a landfill and dispose of.”
An evacuation order for county residents was lifted Thursday afternoon after no traces of toxic gas were detected. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet says the process will continue into next week. Holbrook says air monitoring will continue in the meantime.
“We agreed early on that even after the initial response was done and we are in recovery mode, we did this for public safety concerns that the monitors are being left in place,” Holbrook said.
The Associated Press reports around 400 people have applied for reimbursement from CSX for costs related to the derailment.
