Sammy Fretwell
The State
(TNS)
On a bright winter afternoon, Mitchell Wright stood in the front yard of his home, not 20 feet across a dirt road from a tangle of railroad tracks.
Wright, who was working on his car while enjoying time off, scowled as he thought about the inconvenience of trains blocking intersections and sounding loud horns near South Assembly Street.
But Wright also reflected on whether it’s safe to live so close to a freight train route. On many days, tanker cars filled with hazardous material move through Columbia, running past homes, businesses, schools and state office buildings in the most densely populated parts of town.. The cargo ranges from deadly chemicals to flammable products on the way for delivery.
“It can’t be good for the environment or for us either,’’ Wright, 33, said.
Those concerns are shared by others. Columbia is one of the major routes for freight trains through South Carolina, a city where many people have for years dealt with trains near their homes — and where today, development is occurring along freight rail corridors.
The proximity of railroad tracks to existing and new development raises questions about whether regulation of railroads is strong enough and whether emergency response systems are adequate.
While railroads say they are more tightly regulated than ever and responders say they are prepared for a chemical accident, others say the potential for disastrous hazardous materials spills is something everyone should be aware of. And, in some cases, more should be done, critics say.
Should the city experience a train wreck like one that occurred in Aiken County 20 years ago this month, thousands of lives could be in danger. The Aiken County wreck killed nine people in the gritty mill town of Graniteville, a small place with under 2,500 residents. The city of Columbia has about 142,000 residents, with the metro area topping 800,000 people.
“It’s definitely something I’m concerned with,’’ said Columbia City Councilman Will Brennan, who represents areas surrounding the University of South Carolina campus.
“We live in kind of that corridor where you see these chemical trains coming through the heart of our neighborhoods and through Five Points,’’ Brennan said of Columbia’s train traffic. “There is always a doomsday scenario you hear about, with Graniteville being one.’’
According to a review of Census data, USC emails and information from the non-profit City Center Partnership and the Colliers company, McClatchy newspapers and The State found that:
•Nearly 50 percent of the population of Columbia lives within a half-mile of a railroad track.
•During the past 20 years, more than 50 hotels, apartment complexes and condominium buildings have been developed in downtown Columbia, near Williams Brice Stadium and in areas of Cayce and West Columbia closest to the capital city.
•Up to 45,000 people work downtown in Columbia on any given day.
•The University of South Carolina, which is crisscrossed by freight rail lines, has built or acquired 53 buildings at its downtown Columbia campus since 2005. Today, the Columbia campus has 190 buildings of various shapes and sizes, spokesman Jeff Stensland said.
•Since 2005, USC’s student body population has grown from 23,500 full time students to more than 36,000, while Columbia’s population has risen from 122,357 to 142,416.
Columbia’s growth is forecast to continue. The population in Columbia will rise by at least 33 percent by 2050, but it could be as high as 189 percent, the state Department of Transportation said in a Dec. 11 report that addresses whether to relocate or reconfigure railroad tracks in the city.
Growth in Columbia is occurring as freight traffic has also gone up in South Carolina, much of it driven by the state’s chemical manufacturing industry and the demand for chemicals by the growing automobile manufacturing sector, according to the DOT’s statewide railroad plan.
Chemicals topped the list of commodities shipped by rail through South Carolina in 2022, the report said. All told, railroads transported 35,200 carloads of chemicals out of the state in 2021, while hauling 65,000 carloads of chemicals into the state that year, the Association of American Railroads reports.
The shipment of chemicals by rail will likely go up in coming years, in part because of needs by the Scout Motors plant under construction in the sprawling Blythewood area just north of Columbia, the 2024 state railroad plan said. A rail spur is planned to serve the facility.
“With the growing automotive manufacturing in the state, the need for chemicals is expected to continue to increase,’’ the November 2024 railroad plan said.
Across the city, any number of new development projects have popped up near railroad tracks in the past 20 years, including multiple private and public dorms along Blossom, Whaley and Greene Streets on the edge of USC’s campus. Some of the buildings are immediately adjacent to tracks, in some cases within 75 feet.
Among those are Greene Crossing, a complex that is near multiple railroad tracks. Another is the Palmetto Compress warehouse, which was renovated into a thriving apartment complex along Huger Street. Others include The Row at the Stadium, a large housing complex along Shop Road between railroad tracks and USC’s football stadium.
The state-of-the art Campus Village dorm, a USC facility that houses about 1,800 students, is just a short walk up the hill on Whaley Street from a freight rail line.
All told, The State, with help from the Colliers real estate and market research company, found at least 54 residential buildings have been either built, or renovated from non-residential use, since 2005 in the downtown, near Williams Brice Stadium and near the Congaree River in Cayce and West Columbia. The newspaper verified that number through media reports and websites. But the status of some proposed buildings could not be verified so the number may be higher.
Government agencies and railroads declined to release information showing how many chemicals now flow through Columbia every year, even though some states have released the information. The Department of Environmental Services cited security concerns for keeping the information secret from the public.
But the flow has been notable in the past.
In 2005, the Norfolk Southern railroad reported carrying 10,000 shipments of hazardous materials each year through Columbia, an amount high enough to surprise one of the city’s top toxic materials response officials, The State newspaper reported. At the time, Columbia was second only to the Greenville-Spartanburg area in the number of hazardous materials shipments, the Norfolk Southern railroad said.
Materials moving through the city included anhydrous ammonia, a potentially explosive material used in fertilizer that can be fatal if inhaled; chlorine, a toxic chemical used to purify water that can kill people if inhaled in concentrated amounts; and mixed hazardous cargo, a class of toxic materials like turpentine and paint. The cargo also included hazardous waste, Norfolk Southern reported in 2005.
So far, nothing comparable to the Graniteville wreck has happened anywhere in South Carolina. That accident occurred when a streaking Norfolk Southern train ran off a main track and onto a side track, where it smashed into parked rail cars near Avondale Mills. Work crews had forgotten to flip a switch, which caused the train to divert off the main track.
The Jan. 6, 2005, wreck released some 60 tons of chlorine, which formed a toxic cloud that moved over Graniteville, killing nine people who breathed in the hazardous fumes. In addition to the nine deaths, more than 500 people went to the hospital for treatment, some of whom today are still suffering the after effects..
Columbia beware
Nationally, major train wrecks involving hazardous materials are not that common, the Federal Railroad Administration says. In fact, some 99 percent of the hazardous material shipped by train reaches its destination safely, according to the Association of American Railroads and the Federal Railroad Administration.
FRA data show only 11 train accidents across the country in 2022 released hazardous chemicals, with only two injuries reported, according to a 2023 story by the Associated Press.
“Rail safety has generally improved by most measures,’’ since the Graniteville crash, Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flatau said.
But there is room for improvement, he said, and when substantial spills do occur, they can mean dangerous consequences for people and wildlife.
In the Midwest two years ago, authorities told nearly half the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, to evacuate after a train wrecked and released hazardous, flammable material in the community of 4,700 people. More than three dozen train cars derailed from tracks that ran through town, including 11 cars carrying hazardous materials, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
After the derailment — caused by an overheated wheel bearing — many of the town’s residents reported a range of health problems, including headaches, coughs and skin irritation from pollutants released into the air.
The wreck also polluted a creek and killed thousands of fish. Researchers later determined that toxic pollution had been discovered in 16 states, ABC News reported earlier this year. Vinyl chloride, a pollutant of particular concern, was being hauled on the train.
Lawsuits ensued and Norfolk Southern later agreed to pay $600 million in a settlement.
Ericka Copeland, director of the Sierra Club of Ohio, said communities need to be educated on the hazards that move by train. That was evident in East Palestine, where the train wreck was a “complete disaster,’’ she said.
“It’s a huge threat,’’ she said of hazardous materials from trains that move through communities.
Other accidents across the country in recent years include a derailment and train fire in Raymond, Minn., which forced the entire town to evacuate, and a 5,000-gallon diesel spill associated with train cars in Washington state, according to the National League of Cities.
The league, which urges local governments to be prepared, said that on average, three trains of all types derail a day in the United States.
Like in other states, rail crashes have occurred in South Carolina since Graniteville. Most railroad accidents happen at grade crossings and do not involve chemical leaks. They often involve collisions between trains and cars or pedestrians.
But some train wrecks have involved the release of hazardous material in South Carolina. The state has had more than 300 accidents not at grade crossings since 2005, with more than 100 hazardous materials cars damaged in those mishaps. Of that, nine cars actually released hazardous materials, according to Federal Railroad Administration statistics.
Among the accidents was a collision in Allendale County in 2015 that was similar to the Graniteville crash in 2005, except that nobody was killed.
A 28-car CSX train ran off a main track and onto a side track, where it smashed into six parked tank cars. About 19,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid was released, prompting the evacuation of 20 people within a half mile of the accident. At the time, authorities said they suspected vandalism led to the train running off the main track.
Graniteville victims
Unlike East Palestine and other places, people died within hours of the crash at Graniteville as chlorine hugged the ground and spread across the area. In contrast to some hazardous gases, chlorine tends to sink, making it a significant threat to people in low-lying areas like parts of Graniteville. Two of those killed tried to escape into a forest near Graniteville’s textile mill. The gas caught up to them.
Lifelong Graniteville resident Joe Walker says people in more populated places like Columbia should pay attention to how a hazardous release from a railroad can affect a community’s health.
He knows first-hand.
Both Walker and his older brother were overcome by chlorine gas the morning of the crash in Aiken County. Both developed breathing problems that affected them for years after the crash, making it difficult to work. Walker’s brother eventually died, he thinks, in part, because of exposure to the chlorine.
“A chemical spill will make you have a short life,’’ said Walker, who is 63 and says he has not worked regularly since his exposure to chlorine.
Walker said he was exposed after waking up on that cold morning 20 years ago, startled by a boom so loud it meant something horrible had happened downtown near his house. Worried but wondering what was going on, Walker jumped in his car and drove toward a hulking textile mill, thinking that’s where the explosive sound had come from.
As he got closer to the mill, chlorine gas overcame him. His lungs ached and his nostrils burned, and, if not for the help of sheriff’s deputies who rescued him, Walker may not have survived one of the most disastrous freight train accidents in South Carolina history.
Today, Walker suffers from breathing problems he associates with the chlorine exposure. Walker was among the more than 500 people treated at the hospital in 2005. He received a small sum of money from a legal settlement after the wreck, but that is long gone, he said.
“I’m just coping with it every day,’’ he said. “When you get tired, you get tired real quick. You don’t last as long as you did before. I keep inhalers with me in case I need them.’’
Scientific research supports Walker’s claims. Researchers who studied the health effects of the Aiken County crash found that some of those who breathed chlorine in Graniteville suffered for years from their exposure.
A study presented at a health conference about 10 years ago outlined a decline in lung function of mill workers exposed to chlorine during the Graniteville crash. Researchers from USC, Tulane University and the Medical University of South Carolina were among those who conducted the study.
Are safety rules tight enough?
It’s unlikely that development will be curtailed in cities such as Columbia, where railroad traffic is a part of life.
The capital city is like many across the United States where trains stop at rail yards on their way to deliver goods. Rail yards are places where train cars can be stored and trains assembled. The downtown Columbia area has rail yards along Shop Road near Williams Brice Stadium.
At the same time, Columbia is experiencing growth that many people see as a positive in a city that has, at times, been characterized as sleepy and lethargic.
State Rep. Seth Rose, D-Richland, said he has not personally thought much about the threat from chemical cars in Columbia, but he agreed it’s something to pay attention to. Railroad tracks are, if nothing else, a nuisance for automobile traffic in Columbia, he said.
“If I could wave a magic wand and get them out of the city, I would do it,’’ he said.
Harry Tinsley, Columbia’s emergency management director, said the flow of chemical cars through Columbia is a fact of life that his department is well aware of.
“It is always one of those risks, being a capital city and the way we are set up,’’ Tinsley said. ”Those concerns are always there. Is there a way to totally get away from this? I don’t know.’’
Because it’s impractical to move large numbers of people in an urban area like Columbia away from railroad tracks, some industry critics say that puts a premium on minimizing dangerous chemical leaks from train accidents..
That could be done by moving or eliminating some train tracks in densely populated areas, if deals could be struck with railroads, such as plans currently under discussion between the city and the state DOT.
Wright, the Columbia resident who lives across from a railroad track, said he’d like to see trains rerouted away from populated areas, if possible.
It would “be a lot safer,’’ he said.
Another way to deal with hazardous cargo on railroads is for the federal government to tighten regulation of trains. Some of that has happened already.
One of the biggest improvements in railroad safety preparedness since Graniteville has been the installation of a system called positive train control. That system automatically stops trains if there is danger on the track ahead. A 2008 federal law required major railroads that carry many poisonous and hazardous materials, including those that are inhalation hazards, to install positive train control systems.
Had that been in effect in 2005, the Graniteville crash may have been avoided, officials have said.
The federal government also has mandated improvements in the thickness and design of some tanker cars in an effort to reduce chances chemicals would leak during a crash or derailment. Obsolete tanker cars that hauled flammable liquids are being phased out.
And a new app, called “Ask Rail,’’ allows first response agencies to determine the contents of tanker cars by checking labeling on the sides of those cars. A responder can punch a tanker number into a phone and come up with the information. Tanker cars, by law, must be labeled showing their contents.
Miles to go
But while progress has been made in toughening rules to prevent and respond to train accidents that cause chemical releases, there remains work to do, say officials with one of the nation’s major rail workers unions.
Mark Wallace, a first vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said positive train control has been a plus, but he criticized the railroad industry for opposing measures that could make toxic freight less likely to spill in an accident.
One is a system that encourages workers to report problems on trains without fear of retaliation. The system, akin to whistleblower protection, would be overseen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a neutral party. Legislation proposed last summer in Congress required the system, called C3RS, for major railroads.
Railroad companies calculate whether it’s less expensive to pay off a lawsuit than make safety improvements, Wallace said.
“When they base this stuff on cost, it’s cheaper for them to pay for one big wreck every decade than it is to put money into the infrastructure and update their tracks,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, the industry has pushed to allow fewer people to operate trains and tried to shorten the time inspectors have to check rail cars for safety problems, Wallace told The State.
Others question the industry’s increasing use of longer trains, which are harder to control, as well as whether tanker cars need to be kept in different spots on trains to shield them from being damaged. At one time, there were efforts to position all tanker cars at the backs of trains.
“Railroads are operating longer trains and we are keeping a very close eye on that,’’ said Karl Alexy, associate administrator for railroad safety and chief safety officer for the FRA. “I don’t think we fully understand it all, but I do believe there is an increased risk to safety.’’
In addition to those issues, local officials say the railroad industry does not give them daily reports on what type of hazardous cargo will move through cities.
Wallace said the railroad industry may have a better chance of avoiding oversight under incoming President Donald Trump.
During Republican Trump’s first term as president, his administration opposed requirements for two-person train crews, took no action requiring breathing equipment for those who operate trains and granted railroads numerous requests for relief from important safety regulations, such as required brake tests and positive train control requirements, according to the union’s website.
The Federal Railroad Administration had been more receptive to safety improvements under Democratic President Joe Biden, Wallace said. Among those are requirements for two person train crews that include a certified engineer, as well as emergency escape breathing equipment for crews, according to a breakdown in differences between presidential administrations on the union’s website.
“Trump’s deal is to try to get rid of regulations,’’ he said. “And the FRA controls the railroads by regulations.’’
Efforts to reach a spokesperson for Trump were not successful.
Despite Wallace’s criticism, railroad industry officials say freight trains, as opposed to pipelines or trucks, are the least likely to be involved in accidents.
Norfolk Southern, one of two major national rail companies that operate in South Carolina, said it continues to work on safety and has made substantial progress since the Graniteville disaster 20 years ago. The company, for instance, reduced mainline track accidents 38 percent in 2023, an official said.
“Safety is our core value and we take seriously our responsibility to Graniteville and all the communities where we operate,’’ Norfolk Southern spokeswoman Heather Garcia said in an email.
Improvements Norfolk Southern has made include becoming the first railroad to work with a digital platform that provides first response agencies with rapid access to train locations and emergency response protocols, she said in an email.
The railroad also has worked with labor groups to upgrade training for railroad conductors, installed 200 additional detectors to find flaws in train wheel bearings, developed a digital train inspection system that relies on cameras to inspect equipment, and held training sessions for emergency response agencies. One of those was in Columbia this past March.
Jessica Kahanek, a spokeswoman for the Association of American Railroads, said the industry is investing billions of dollars each year to keep railroad tracks safe and reliable.
“Prevention is number one,’’ she said., noting that the industry’s efforts are “how do we prevent an accident.’’
CSX, the other major rail carrier that operates in South Carolina, did not respond to questions from The State, seeking comment.
Emergency preparedness
Local officials in the Columbia area who responded to questions from The State say they are ready to act if a train car spills hazardous chemicals in densely populated areas. And they say improvements have been made since the 2005 Graniteville wreck.
At USC, for instance, officials have installed loudspeaker systems since 2005 to help alert students and faculty of a major disaster, such as a chemical leak from a railroad, USC’s Stensland said. That system was lacking when The State reported on the issue in 2005.
The loudspeakers, which are tested weekly, are part of a multipronged effort to get the word out in the event of a train derailment and chemical spill, or other threats to the campus. Carolina also has a system that students and faculty can sign up for that will give them alerts of immediate threats, Stensland said.
“For a train derailment where a chemical spill is involved, we would utilize a combination of notifications,’’ he said in an email. The most likely advice to students and faculty would be to “shelter in place,’’ or remain in the buildings they are in. “But each scenario is different and may require a different response.’’
Even so, USC and first response agencies still don’t know on a daily basis what types of hazardous cargo freight trains are carrying through town, officials said. Without specific information about what’s in a crashed tanker car, it can make responses more difficult.
“To the knowledge of the fire service, no advanced information is given,’’ according to an email from Ted Luckadoo, an assistant administrator for Lexington County. “At anytime of the day or night different chemicals flow along both our railways and roads. These chemicals can include but are not limited to ammonia, chlorine, fuels, pesticides, gases and cryogenics.’’
Railroad companies are supposed to give the state some annual estimates of hazardous materials expected to be shipped through an area, according to the FRA.
Emergency response agencies note that the Ask Rail app, which wasn’t available in 2005, is an improvement. That can quickly tell them the contents of a rail car by inputting numbers on placards that are on tankers.
But that isn’t a foolproof system.
In the East Palestine accident, local emergency response agencies could not see the numbers on the side of many tanker cars because they had been obliterated by fires that broke out after the wreck, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Some also do not have enough people or equipment to respond to emergencies, leaving them at the mercy of other response agencies to help out, officials said. Training also has been an issue.
The state Office of Regulatory Staff’s railroad division, which shares train safety oversight with the federal government, has urged local response agencies to send only those trained in dealing with hazardous chemicals to enter chemical accident sites. The ORS expressed concern in 2015 about some untrained response personnel entering railroad accident sites, potentially putting lives at stake.
Meanwhile, aside from USC, much of the Columbia area is without loudspeaker warning systems to tell the public of a train wreck in the event that television and internet communications aren’t effective.
Matt Rowlette, a Lexington County hazardous materials fire official, said the county regularly trains its personnel for hazardous materials response. The county has 43 firefighters with advanced hazardous materials technician certification, Luckadoo’s email said. The email said all firefighters have some hazmat training.
The county also has a hazardous materials station at the fire station in the Oak Grove community, where the county’s main cache of hazmat equipment is kept, Luckadoo’s email said.
The city of Columbia’s fire department has two dedicated hazardous materials units and all city firefighters have some hazardous materials training, spokesman Mike DeSumma said in an email. About 100 members have received a higher classification of training known as the hazardous material technician level, he said, noting that some have been trained at a special center in Colorado.
But more personnel would help, some officials say.
“I’d love to have more people,’’ Rowlette said.
Emergency officials in Cayce and in Richland County did not respond to questions from The State. Columbia emergency management director Tinsley said he believes the city is better able to take action if there is a problem with hazardous materials spilling from a train than it was years ago.
But he also said consolidating railroad tracks would help.
“Looking down from 10,000 feet, I’d like to see not too many chemicals come through the area,’’ Tinsley said. “But given the world we live in, it is hard to mitigate that.’’
David Raynor, a McClatchy database journalist, contributed to this story.
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