(The Associated Press circulated the following article on January 19.)
LINCOLN, Ala. — Wreckage from the fiery crash of a train carrying sodium cyanide continued to burn Thursday, but no hazardous chemicals were detected in the air, and most nearby residents were allowed to return home.
The fire mostly involved paper and automobile parts, said Jerome Hand, a spokesman for the state environmental management agency. Plastic-lined cardboard boxes containing sodium cyanide spilled inside a train car, but none leaked, Hand said.
The flames broke out Wednesday after the train rear-ended another train that was carrying automobiles. That train had pulled onto side rails to let the other pass through, but not all of its 81 cars cleared the main tracks, said Susan Terpay, a spokeswoman for Norfolk Southern, which operates both trains.
Three crew members were treated at a hospital, and a plume of black smoke could be seen 40 miles away in Birmingham.
Air tests showed no danger from chemicals, Hand said. Environmental officials were also monitoring fish at a nearby lake, he said.
Residents were allowed to return Thursday to all but about 18 of the 500 homes that had been evacuated.
Sodium cyanide is not combustible, but it forms flammable gas on contact with water or damp air, and it can give off irritating or toxic gases in a fire, according to the Centers for Disease Control web site.
Inhalation can lead to headaches, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, irregular heart beat and unconsciousness.