AMITE, La. — At least one of four Tangipahoa Parish schools that had been closed as part of a city-wide emergency plan to clean up a hazmat spill on the Canadian National Railroad will reopen Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
School Superintendent Virgil Allen said late Monday that Roseland Elementary School — which was being used as an evacuation shelter — will reopen for classes Tuesday.
The status of Amite Elementary, Amite West Side Middle and Amite High would be determined early Tuesday morning, Allen said.
About 1,000 people were forced out of their homes because of the train derailment and chemical spill over the weekend.
Three cars — two of hydrochloric acid and one of styrene monomer — have been leaking, Patti Giannoble, spokeswoman for the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, said Monday.
The tank cars were among 19 which derailed Saturday afternoon from a Canadian Railways freight. Only three other derailed cars carried hazardous cargo, Giannoble said.
Cleanup was far enough along to let deputies and Amite police take people to their homes briefly to get medicine or their pets.
State police hoped to greatly reduce the evacuation area by Monday night, said Trooper Kevin Allen, a state police spokesman.
He said no cars were leaking Monday afternoon — they either had been repaired or had drained dry.
He said the biggest worry was that the two chemicals might get mixed during cleanup, creating a blend far more likely to explode than either alone.
“That’s what’s kinda hampering and slowing processes down,” he said.
The cleanup will probably take all week, he said, but police hope to be able to let even those who live closest to the wreck return home within a day or two.
Giannoble said she was given the updated evacuation figures Monday morning. “We finally had time to look at the map and do a closer analysis,” she said.
She said 266 people spent Sunday night at an emergency shelter. Most evacuees stay with friends or relatives, or in hotels.
Giannoble said the 13 carrying non-hazardous cargo have been moved, and work to move and clean those carrying dangerous chemicals was beginning Monday.
Allen said people calling the state police hotline had become a problem. “That number is strictly for reporting an incident. It’s not an information line; it’s not manned for that,” he said.
He said people who need information about the accident and evacuation should call Tangipahoa Parish government, at 985-748-3211.
There was no danger beyond the half-mile evacuation area, state police spokesman Omar Landrum said.
No injuries were reported.
Amite Elementary, Amite West Side Middle School, Amite High School and Norwood Prep were closed Monday, Giannoble said.
Giannoble said she has been told that the styrene is likely to stink for days after people are allowed home.
“While it’s going to be an offensive odor, inhaling it is not hazardous,” she said.