Mayor Muriel Bowser said no trains will be running on the tracks Monday and CSX couldn’t say how long the cleanup might take.
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Doug Buchannan, a spokesman for the D.C fire department, said as many as nine cars have derailed and at least three are leaking hazardous material. The institute’s website says it can cause skin burns and temporary loss of hair, and exposure to calcium chloride can irritate the skin and respiratory tract.
CSX said in a statement Sunday, “The safety of the community, first responders and CSX’s employees is our highest priority”.
No injuries were reported, and workers were able to plug a damaged vehicle leaking sodium hydroxide, a chemical often used in detergents and other household products, and contain a separate ethanol leak, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said sodium hydroxide is a caustic soda, similar to lye.
The leak was contained by around noon, Buchanan said.
While the Penn and Camden Lines are not directly affected, MARC says Monday morning’s Camden Line Train 844 and evening Penn Line trains 428 and 447 are canceled. That leak has also been plugged, the company said.
Several cars remain overturned after a CSX freight train derailed in Washington on Sunday, May 1, 2016.
CSX says it is preparing to clean up the derailment site, which will involve replacing soil and laying new track.
The railroad says ongoing air monitoring shows no negative effect on air quality. Amtrak officials are busing passengers off train 30 at Marc’s Point in Rocks Station, Md.to D.C. and points in between. Transit officials said in a statement that passengers should expect the limited trains MARC is running to be very crowded.
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A CSX freight train heading to North Carolina derailed near a Metro stop in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, sending 14 cars off the tracks and spilling hazardous material, officials said. Evening Brunswick Line trains were departing out of Silver Spring instead of Washington, and the Maryland Transit Agency said in a statement late Monday that commuters can expect the same on Tuesday. The same impact is expected Tuesday.
