The recent North Carolina (NC) railroad accident between the Amtrak passenger train “Piedmont” and a truck that was hauling a “low boy” trailer caused road closures and train delays. The crash also caused a “hazardous materials” incident because of diesel fuel that spilled from the train and soaked into the ground.
At least thirteen people were seriously injured and the accident caused a massive fire that took hours to put out and clean up.
As evidenced from this particular train-truck crash, there are repercussions of an accident aside from serious injuries, including contamination caused by hazardous materials being released as a result of the wreck.
After this particular crash, it was necessary for hazardous materials officials and workers trained in handling and cleaning up such materials to replace the contaminated soil. Testing will need to be done at regular intervals for a period of time to ensure that contamination is no longer a concern.