Train Derailment - Norfolk Southern Railroad; Louisville, KY

Louisville, KY | 1996-Dec-19

Initial Notification: A Norfolk Southern Railroad train derailed near Louisville, Kentucky on December 19, 1996, approximately one mile from the Ohio River. The incident involved the derailing of ten railcars, three of which were tank cars containing a hazardous chemical. The tank cars of concern, with a capacity of 30,000 gallons each, contained styrene, butadiene, and chloroprene. Approximately 15,000 gallons of styrene leaked out of a tank car and into a ditch leading into the Ohio River. The styrene was contained in a natural containment area and ditch and did not reach the Ohio. The tank cars of butadiene and chloroprene did not leak any product despite being turned over on their sides. The FOSC was USCG MSO Louisville. Kentucky DEP assumed the lead OSC responsibility during the afternoon of the incident. USCG district 2.