Crews to Remove Hazardous Materials from Kentucky Train Derailment

Authorities say crews will start removing hazardous materials next week from a train that derailed on the outskirts of Louisville nearly two weeks ago. A spokeswoman for the Louisville-Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency says the plan to transfer hydrogen fluoride and butadiene from stricken rail tank cars has been approved.

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Credit Kentucky News Network

A train derailed in southern Jefferson County near the border with Hardin County. Crews have been cleaning up a chemical fire that resulted from the accident.

The spokeswoman, Jody Duncan, says the work will begin Tuesday morning.

Duncan said Friday the work will result in the closure of a stretch of Dixie Highway. She says the plan currently doesn't call for any evacuations or shelter-in-place orders.

A chemical fire that spewed for days from a derailed tanker forced the evacuation of the town of West Point along with other nearby neighborhoods.

The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating what caused the train to derail.