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On Tuesday, September 28th, 1982 an east bound Illinois Central Gulf train derailed in the town of Livingston, Louisiana. 43 cars derailed, 36 were tank cars; 27 of these cars contained various regulated hazardous or toxic chemical commodities. The cars stacked up and 30 derailed cars were compressed into an area about 265' long. Roughly 5 car lengths. A total of 20 tank cars were punctured or breached in the derailment and fires broke out in the wreckage, while smoke and toxic gases were released into the atmosphere. Thermally-induced explosions of two tank cars that had not been punctured caused them to rocket violently. About 3,000 persons living within a 5-mile radius of the derailment site were evacuated for as long as 2 weeks. Nineteen residences and other buildings in Livingston were destroyed or severely damaged. More than 200,000 gallons of toxic chemical product were spilled and absorbed into the ground requiring extensive excavation of contaminated soil and its transportation to a distant dump site.
