Train Cars With Toxic Cargo Fall Off New Jersey Bridge

[Nikkar Narayana]

A bridge failed in Paulsboro, New Jersey, on Friday, sending several train cars -- at least one leaking a toxic chemical -- crashing into a creek near the Delaware River.
Four of the six cars involved in the crash were carrying the chemical -- a highly toxic and flammable substance called vinyl chloride -- which leakedfrom at least one tank carinto Mantua Creek, New Jersey emergency and environmental officials said. No serious injuries were reported, but 18 people with respiratory issues were sent to a hospital as a precaution, officials said.
Nearby schools placed students on lockdown, and authorities ordered evacuations in a very limited area around the accident.

At a news conference, a state environmental official indicated that much of the danger had passed, but he warned residents to stay alert for public safety announcements.
"It appears that all of the vinyl chloride that was in the particular car has dissipated," said Larry Hajna of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. "There's no more release going on."
Booms have been placed in the creek as a precaution, he said, to contain about 180,000 pounds of chemicals that leaked.

The air surrounding the wreck is being monitored and is safe, the official said. Later, department spokesman Larry Ragonese offered CNN a more definitive assessment, saying, "There is no environmental emergency."
Video of the train wreck site from [url="http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/index"]CNN affiliate WPVI[/url] showed two tanker cars dangling from the collapsed railroad bridge. Other cars were in the creek, partially sunken amid rising smoke.

Vinyl chloride is used to make plastic and vinyl products, including PVC pipes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has labeled the chemical a Group A human carcinogen. "Short-term exposure to high levels of vinyl chloride in air has resulted in central nervous system effects, such as dizziness, drowsiness, and headaches," [url="http://www.epa.gov/ttnatw01/hlthef/vinylchl.html"]the EPA says on its website[/url].