Crews cleaning up acid after train derailment

CSX brought in two contractors to clean up the spill and right the cars.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Hazardous materials crews were expected to work well into the night cleaning up sulfuric acid that spilled here from an overturned rail car.
Five cars derailed from the line at the CSX rail yard in Taylor Township, just a few miles south of New Castle near Pa. Route 168 and U.S. Route 422, at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Two of the cars contained sulfuric acid and one started leaking after the derailment, said CSX spokesman Robert Sullivan.
There were no injuries and the derailment had a minor impact on railroad operations, he said.
CSX will conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the derailment, Sullivan said.
Under control
Brian Melcer, Lawrence County's director of public safety, said local firefighters and county emergency workers left the rail yard at about 2 p.m. Tuesday confident that CSX had the situation under control.
Melcer said the railroad company had two of its own contractors on the scene to clean up the sulfuric acid and right the rail cars.
"It was in a remote area, and we were lucky that the way the tank spilled it contained itself," he said.
No evacuations were necessary, he noted.
State environmental and federal railway officials were called to monitor the situation.
Melcer said local officials were also expected to continue to monitor the situation throughout the night.
Sullivan could not say where the trucks were headed or why they were carrying sulfuric acid.
cioffi@vindy.com