RAILROAD SAFETY & OPERATION

摘要

Train derailments and collisions are rare, but when they happen they can be catastrophic, particularly when the trains are carrying flammable or otherwise dangerous chemicals. In South Carolina on January 6, 2005, a freight train carrying chlorine gas, sodium hydroxide, and cresol was misdirected by an improperly aligned switch onto a track where a local train was parked. The collision derailed both engines and many freight cars, including one loaded with 90 tons of chlorine, which ruptured. The chlorine killed nine people, at least 250 were treated for chlorine exposure, and 5,400 residents were forced to evacuate for nearly two weeks as the site was decontaminated.