About 60 tons of wheat spill into creek after train derails in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Around 60 tons of wheat spilled into Buck Creek after an Indiana & Ohio Railway (IORY) train derailed in Springfield on Tuesday.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the derailment occurred on tracks in the 400 block of East North Street around 3:30 p.m.

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Springfield Fire Chief Jacob King told News Center 7 that some of the tanks on the train held hazardous material, so when the train derailed, they were concerned.

Crews quickly learned that those tanks were not damaged and determined that the only train car that spilled was holding wheat.

“What we have is raw wheat grain. It was in a hopper unit, so it just hadn’t been processed, and that hopper unit came off the tracks and then rolled over on its side and then spilled the contents of the wheat into the Buck Creek,” King said.

King said the hooper unit that came off the tracks was holding about 120 tons of wheat, 60 of which poured into the creek.

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“We did put booms down to kind of control any of the wheat running downstream, so we could hold it here to protect fish downstream and then establish a good clean-up area. And so the state EPA is here monitoring that,” King said.

King said the wheat could drop the oxygen level in the water, making it dangerous for fish.

“We want to keep it healthy, that’s a top priority for everyone of us in the city as well as our service department,” King said.

Therefore, the Clark County EMA, the Ohio EPA, the Clark County Hazmat team, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the state director of public safety, and Springfield police all worked together on the cleanup.

“I know that the rail company and everybody’s working pretty, pretty quickly and collaboratively to make sure we can do this safely and remove the car safely, but also open the roadway back up for our folks here in the city,” Springfield Police Division Chief Allison Elliot said.

Elliot added that it’s too early in the investigation to know why the hopper came off the tracks.

She anticipates the road will remain closed overnight.

“We understand it could be a disruption, but I know that, you know, overnight they’re going to be working as diligently as they can, but just to expect some delays, but hopefully within the next 12 hours that we could get the roadway back open,” Elliot said.

No one was hurt in this incident.

As previously reported by News Center 7, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said no hazardous chemicals were released as a result of the derailment.

“We appreciate the public’s patience and will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available,” Rue said.

An IORY spokesperson told News Center 7 they are trying to figure out what caused this derailment.

“Just before 6 p.m. this evening, an Indiana & Ohio Railway (IORY) train derailed a single railcar carrying wheat. There were no injuries, and there was no hazardous material involved. Some wheat entered Buck Creek, and as a result, environmental response contractors were engaged. Local railroad managers have also been on the scene to coordinate the response and cleanup. An investigation into the cause of incident is also underway.”
— IORY spokesperson