Evacuations lifted after train derails near Philadelphia but the cleanup and investigation are just starting

By Michelle Watson and Holly Yan, CNN

(CNN) — Emergency crews are investigating a train derailment in southeast Pennsylvania, the Whitemarsh Township manager said.

The wreck happened Monday morning in Plymouth Meeting, which has about 7,500 residents 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia. About 16 of the train’s 40 cars derailed around 4:50 a.m., according to the train’s owner, CSX.

The apparent cause of the derailment was weather-related, CSX representative Sheriee Bowman told CNN. Local authorities said federal investigators will try to determine the exact cause.

Weather data indicated the visibility near the crash site was less than 10 miles in the 4 a.m. hour.

“While preliminary reports indicate that one car transporting hazardous material was involved in the incident, there is no indication of any leaks or spills of hazardous materials and there are no injuries to the crew of the train,” CSX said in a written statement.

“The local fire department responded and declared an evacuation of just over a dozen homes out of an abundance of caution.”

The evacuation orders were lifted late Monday morning, said Chris Schwartz, chief of the Barren Hill Volunteer Fire Company.

“There were no injuries reported in this incident, and the scene has since been turned over to Norfolk Southern and CSX teams to continue their mitigation efforts,” said Schwartz.

While CSX owns the train, Norfolk Southern told CNN it owns the track where the derailment happened.

Norfolk Southern been under heightened scrutiny since the derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio.

The February 3 wreck sparked a dayslong inferno, spewed poisonous fumes into the air and killed thousands of fish. Residents and investigators who responded to the scene have reported an array of ailments since the derailment, but the exact causes of many of the illnesses have been difficult to determine.

Federal Railroad Administration data provided to CNN in February showed 149 incidents in which hazardous materials were released from moving trains over the past decade. But the federal data is self-reported by train companies, so it is difficult to verify whether the data is complete.

Officials in Pennsylvania addressed concerns about whether Monday’s derailment could result in the spread of hazardous materials.

“Train and hazmat personnel remained on scene and determined that there was no active hazardous materials leak from any of the rail cars,” said Schwartz, the Barren Hill fire chief.

“One car that contained plastic pellets did break open and spilled next to the railway. These pellets were not hazardous,” Schwartz said.

He said the train also had two empty tank cars, five cars containing urea fertilizer, and one car containing tetrachloroethylene – a nonflammable liquid often used as a dry cleaning agent, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he is monitoring the situation.

“Thank you to the residents taking precautions at the direction of local authorities. I urge you to continue following their instruction,” Shapiro tweeted.

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CNN’s Eli Masket, Monica Garrett and Ella Nilsen contributed to this report.