By Kris Maher
West Virginia State Police evacuated residents of a small
community 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, according to state officials.
At least one tanker car, and possibly more, had fallen 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.
As of Monday afternoon, no injuries had been reported from the
derailment or the fire, which some eyewitnesses said followed an
explosion, according to Mr. Messina.
State health officials said the intakes for water systems that
serve the towns of Montgomery, W.V., and Cedar Grove, W.Va., would
be shut Monday afternoon 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
outside Charleston which 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 crude oil
spill has affected its water plant, but it is working with state
officials to determine when its water intake can be reopened.
A spokeswoman for CSX Corp., which state officials said operated
the train, couldn't immediately be reached to comment.
It wasn't yet clear what caused the derailment. State officials
believe the train derailed at about 1:20 p.m. Monday along the
Kanawha River about 30 miles from Charleston, near Mt. Carbon,
W.Va., which has about 400 residents.
Write to Kris Maher at kris.maher@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for CSX Corp.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US1264081035
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires