Train cars with toxic cargo crash off New Jersey bridge into creek

Train cars with toxic cargo crash off New Jersey bridge into creek

www.cnn.com

A bridge collapsed in the West Deptford area of New Jersey on Friday, sending several train cars carrying toxic chemicals crashing into a creek near the Delaware River, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Vinyl chloride, a highly toxic and flammable chemical, is believed to be leaking into Mantua Creek, Petty Officer Nick Ameen told CNN. No serious injuries have been reported, but nearby schools are on lockdown, a borough emergency official said, and people in the immediate area have been evacuated.
A representative for Underwood Memorial Hospital told CNN that the hospital has treated 18 patients wi

(visit the link for the full news article)

Why do these things always have to happen over water?

Instead of being a simple containment, it spreads.



www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Is there any risk to drinking supplies? Does the creek lead anywhere major?

CX.

No injuries? I'm glad I am not a fish living in that creek or should say used to live in that creek. Isn't that used in paint stripper?

From Wikipedia: Vinyl Chloride

Vinyl chloride is the organochloride with the formula H2C:CHCl. It is also called vinyl chloride monomer, VCM or chloroethene. This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). At ambient pressure and temperature, vinyl chloride is a gas with a sickly sweet odor. It is highly toxic, flammable and carcinogenic.

Yippee. It is a carcinogen.

This one could be pretty serious..

www.wfmz.com... html

Officials said the train was transporting vinyl chloride -- a Group A human carcinogen which has been shown to increase the risk of a rare form of liver cancer.

The Environmental Protection Agency says short-term exposure to high levels of vinyl chloride can cause dizziness and drowsiness.

Residents in Paulsboro, West Deptford and East Greenwich Township are being told
to stay inside their homes.

Schools in Paulsboro are on lockdown.

There's a short news clip at the link ..

Its curious why there's no mention of the cause of the bridge collapsing.... its not everyday that happens... I'd think it should be a main part of the story...
Apparently I'm not the only one who noticed that... I found this thread on train orders.com, a site for "railroad enthusiasts"
www.trainorders.com

Isn't toxic waste spilling in NJ... a bit redundant? Isn't that how Snooki mutated into being?

reply to post by crystalLibra


I am sure that an investigation on to how/why the bridge collapsed will be done after they figure out how to contain the leaking chemicals.. that's priority #1 at the moment..

Talk about the worst place for an event, at least 4 tankers full of that stuff in a creek that feeds into the Delaware river near the Philadelphia airport? This is a tough one I would think..

reply to post by JacKatMtn
Right you are.

After reading the wikipedia page I linked to above, I see that it has very bad effects on the human liver, not limited to cancer.

Ugly stuff.

reply to post by butcherguy


Pure speculation on my part.. but I wonder if that recent super storm may have compromised the bridge structure?

Was the bridge inspected after the storm to make sure it was up to standards?

Just some random thoughts, that will probably be looked into, once they have tackled the immediate concern of the HazMat situation..

Originally posted by Plexi
Isn't toxic waste spilling in NJ... a bit redundant? Isn't that how Snooki mutated into being?

I love how people get all complacent and make jokes about things when they're far enough away where it won't affect them.

I live in NJ. Somewhat close-by. This could be bad for some of us (hopefully it won't).

But yeah, it's funny.

Wow, what are the odds??!!
"This is the same bridge that collapsed in August 2009 as a 50-car coal train passed over it, spilling 16 cars into the water." www.nj.com... rain_derailment_prompts_evacu.html
First coal, now chemicals? =(

I just looked at the bridge on a satellite view at Bing Maps.

It appears to be a drawbridge.

According to this article:

www.washingtonpost.com... 11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html

Authorities say only one of the derailed train cars in southern New Jersey has leaked hazardous material.

The Department of Environmental Protection says the car leaked vinyl chloride as a gas and all of it has since dissipated.

Good that it was only one of the cars that leaked, however it looks like since it was a gas, there was no containment? it's just part of the local environment now?

Does this chemical dissipate into a less harmful form over time?

reply to post by impaired


I live somewhat close by too. Nor did I provide NJ with it's cesspool like reputation... the 'Garden State' acquired that all on it's own.

And if you can't appreciate black humour... mores the pity for you in this day and age. I can however direct you to a patch of sand that could use pounding.. if you're interested that is?

reply to post by JacKatMtn


I found this article from 2009 on thewhistlepost.com. This states that the first collapse was due to structural failure. He then goes on to explain the specifics in engineering terms... while I am anything but an engineer (lol) but my understanding is that basically due to the type of bridge (A-frame supported by cables, and considered 'movable') it was and the weight of the train caused the "abutment support function" to fail. Kinda makes ya wonder why they would only "repair" something like that as opposed to building a new structure that would safely support the weight? I'm so relieved that no one was killed in the accident! Quite unfortunate that the cargo was dangerous chemicals that are causing such an after effect. IMO this accident should've never happened a second time had they correctly addressed the problem after the first accident...

I am thankful that no one was hurt in this accident. I do wonder about the effects on the chemicals to the communities surrounding the area. Whether it was an actual spillage or leak of gas, what should be the concerns of the citizens in those areas? I know it can cause liver problems, including cancer. But is that just limited to a spillage? So many questions and no answers yet.

As I am typing this, I am watching the news and they are saying on multiple channels that the gas has leaked into the air and the water. Several people in the area are having respiratory problems. People are asked to close themselves up in their homes and use no types of ventilation from the outside. That is scary.

Originally posted by impaired

Originally posted by Plexi
Isn't toxic waste spilling in NJ... a bit redundant? Isn't that how Snooki mutated into being?

I love how people get all complacent and make jokes about things when they're far enough away where it won't affect them.

I live in NJ. Somewhat close-by. This could be bad for some of us (hopefully it won't).

But yeah, it's funny.

I'm in SJ. Lots of odd things happening in Jersey lately. And not good. That mini quake, that was within walking distance from my home. Same woods actually. Sandys odd sharp curve, now this?! What next? Or, maybe just a string of bad luck.......

Originally posted by JacKatMtn
According to this article:

www.washingtonpost.com... 11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html

Authorities say only one of the derailed train cars in southern New Jersey has leaked hazardous material.

The Department of Environmental Protection says the car leaked vinyl chloride as a gas and all of it has since dissipated.

Good that it was only one of the cars that leaked, however it looks like since it was a gas, there was no containment? it's just part of the local environment now?

Does this chemical dissipate into a less harmful form over time?

according to the MSDS sheet it's not too bad as far as bio-magnification nor with aquatic poisoning. it dissipates rather quickly and shouldn't pose any long term issues.