Headline Roundup • June 26th, 2023
Train Carrying Hazardous Materials Crashes Into Yellowstone River
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A freight train transporting hazardous materials plunged into the Yellowstone River in Montana on Saturday when a bridge collapsed.
The Details: The cars that crashed into the river carried molten sulfur and hot asphalt, which are flammable and potentially dangerous, and harden when exposed to cooler temperatures. Ten cars were affected in the crash, according to Montana Rail Link spokesman Andy Garland, and two cars contained sodium hydrosulfide but didn’t enter the water. It's unclear whether the derailment caused the bridge to collapse, or whether the collapse led to the derailment. Multiple sources mentioned reports of asphalt globs appearing downstream. Officials reportedly shut down drinking water intakes downstream and plugged an irrigation ditch to prevent the materials from potentially polluting nearby farmland.
For Context: Media outlets from left to right have covered train derailments and potential pollution from them more prominently after February's toxic train derailment in Ohio.
How the Media Covered It: Descriptions of the spilled chemicals differed across the spectrum. ABC News (Lean Left bias) called them "potentially hazardous materials." Wall Street Journal (Center) said crews were "transferring a potentially dangerous substance" from the crash site, and said the train carried "hazardous materials." The Epoch Times (Lean Right) said the train carried "hazardous chemicals."
Featured Coverage of this Story
LARRY MAYER/THE BILLINGS GAZETTE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cleanup crews began the delicate task Sunday of transferring a potentially dangerous substance from the site where a freight train carrying hazardous materials plunged into the Yellowstone River in Montana, according to railroad officials.
Several cars that were part of a Montana Rail Link freight train fell into the river around 6:45 a.m. Saturday when a bridge near Columbus, Mont., collapsed.
Ten cars were affected, according to Montana Rail Link spokesman Andy Garland. Two cars contained sodium hydrosulfide, a flammable substance with a rotten egg odor. The cars carrying that chemical didn’t enter...
Matthew Brown/AP
Cleanup is continuing at the site where a train carrying potentially hazardous materials derailed into the Yellowstone River in Montana, according to officials.
The incident left multiple tankers in the Yellowstone River and decimated the railroad portion of the Yellowstone Twin River Bridges in Stillwater County, Montana. Officials have not indicated whether the derailment caused the bridge to collapse or whether the collapse precipitated the derailment.
Three of the railcars that derailed were carrying hot asphalt, and four were carrying molten sulfur, KC Williams, the director of Emergency Management for...
Matthew Brown/AP Photo
A train carrying hazardous chemicals plunged into the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana after a bridge collapsed early Saturday morning.
Officials said 10 cars belonging to Montana Rail Link (MRL) went into the river at around 6:45 a.m. Three cars reportedly were carrying hot asphalt and four others molten sulphur.
Stillwater County Emergency Management reported on Saturday that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality had begun monitoring air and water quality at water intakes along the river for potential contamination.
“This just started and will continue over the next several...
