SPECIAL REPORT: 2023 U.S. Train Derailments and Spills Map
“Another train derailment? You’ve got to be kidding me?!”
How many have thought the same over the past few months?
Americans have heard more about train derailments in 2023 than ever before, thanks to the catastrophe in East Palestine. Ever since February of this year, it seems as if every news cycle of this year involves a train wreck of some kind.
To better illustrate how this is playing out, we at MIRA Safety have created a train derailment map so that you can keep tabs on what has happened where. We hope you enjoy it.
Table of Contents
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2023 Train Derailment Map
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02
What Can We Glean Here?
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03
Frequently Asked Questions
2023 Train Derailment Map
For your convenience, we’ve created an interactive map that displays all known reported train derailments that have occurred within the mainland United States so far in the year of 2023. Click here to check it out.
Caveats
It takes several months for the full results of a train derailment investigation to finally be officially released. As a result, it can be challenging to find information for many of the above train derailments. It should be noted that even though the cause of a train crash may be mentioned above as “under investigation,” in many cases, this was the listed cause on the day the derailment occurred. It can be challenging, if not impossible, to find updated news articles on the grounds of derailments after the fact, mainly if they are not of note.
For data not included for the derailment site, this is because it is very difficult to find those particular pieces of data. Again, this often stems from small-time news organizations that only give a brief synopsis of a minor derailment in their area.
Also, it bears mentioning that it can be challenging to determine the exact company involved in the derailment. Companies often lease their locomotives and so on to other companies within the railroad business, and this can make it difficult to discover whose train it really was that derailed.
What Can We Glean Here?
We’ve written before about how keeping a CBRN go-bag in your vehicle can help keep your family safe during a chemical accident. This is one of the things you may want to consider when it comes to discussing train derailments. Railroad tracks crisscross the entire United States, and odds are that you have some not far from where you work or live. As a result, a train accident can happen just about anywhere in the US.
With a simple NBC-77 filter and a CM-6M gas mask kept safe in a nearby pouch, you could rapidly don respiratory protection as you sought safer ground should something like this cause some type of hazmat chemical spill where you live.
The NBC-77 is commonly used by military units worldwide to protect them against CBRN threats, and it can help protect your lungs against whatever may be released by a train derailment as well. So, check it out and the other products we offer here at MIRA Safety. When it comes to high-quality PPE, we have you covered.
In addition, we highly recommend donning some kind of full body protection such as our MIRA Safety HAZ-Suit, butyl gloves, boots, and ChemTape to go along with your mask. This will form a tight seal around your entire body and prevent skin contact with harmful industrial chemicals. These items can all be packed down to fit inside most backpacks. We advise only deploying these items IF there is enough time. If there is not, the priority is to don the gas mask with the filter and make your escape. Skin exposure can be dangerous but direct inhalation is even more harmful in most cases.
What are your thoughts on train derailments that keep popping up in the headlines? Is this just more of the same? Or is there something else going on here? Tell us in the comments below!
