Some evacuees return as chemical-loaded train burns in Alabama

<p>Schools were open and some evacuees were allowed to return to their homes as a train carrying sodium cyanide continued to burn Thursday after crashing into another train that had moved to a side track to let it pass.</p><p>Emergency management officials said about 500 homes within a mile of the accident were under an evacuation order after the fire erupted about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. They said evacuees within a quarter-mile of the fire were still not allowed to return Thursday, but others could.</p><p>Jerome Hand, a spokesman for the state environmental management agency, said no hazardous chemicals were detected in the air and that the fire, which continued to burn Thursday, mostly involved paper and automobile parts.</p><p>Authorities said the train rear-ended another that had pulled aside to let it pass about 4:30 p.m. near Lincoln in Talladega County. The ensuing fire sent flames and black smoke into the air that could be seen in Birmingham, about 40 miles west of Lincoln.</p><p>Three crew members were taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening. No other injuries were reported.</p><p>Along with some 500 homes being put under an evacuation order, about 30 people who were unable to flee were instructed to seal their homes and use portable air cleaners. The crash occurred about 20 miles west of Anniston, site of an Army chemical weapons incinerator, and many residents were previously provided with emergency gear and instructions to shelter in place.</p><p>Dana Uptain of the Talladega emergency management agency said Thursday the cleanup was still going on and only those outside the quarter-mile radius of the fire were allowed to return.</p><p>Many evacuees had stayed with relatives or friends. Some went to shelters set up at a school, recreation center and church.</p><p>Susan Terpay, spokeswoman for Norfolk Southern, said it did not appear that the car carrying the chemical had been breached. Both trains were being operated by the Virginia-based railroad company and were en route to Atlanta, she said.</p><p>"The community here has been educated on how to SIP," Talladega County EMA spokeswoman Shay Cook said. "There is a chemical stockpile in the area and they were trained for that purpose. This is something that citizens have and they have been educated on."</p><p>Terpay said the first train was carrying automobiles and had pulled off into a siding along the main tracks to let the second train pass, but not all of the 81 cars of the first train cleared the tracks.</p><p>"The second train was behind it and was supposed to go on the main line because it needed to move more quickly," Terpay said. "It appears that the first train did not clear the main line and when the second train came through, it struck the first train that was on the siding."</p><p>According to the Centers for Disease Control web site, sodium cyanide is not combustible but it forms flammable gas on contact with water or damp air and can give off irritating or toxic gases in a fire.</p><p>Effects of sodium cyanide inhalation include: headache, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, irregular heart beat and unconsciousness.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cdc540)</p>