NEW BRIGHTON – All of the residents who were evacuated late Friday night after a fiery 24-car Norfolk Southern train derailment have returned home as firefighters put out the last tanker fire and rail traffic resumed on the Chicago to New Jersey line.
The evacuation notice was lifted at noon Monday.
Workers finished pulling the last two cars from the Beaver River and cleared the remaining two cars from the track in New Brighton, located about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Norfolk Southern opened one of the two trestle tracks to train traffic early Monday.
All of the damaged cars are being stored in Big Rock Park near the site of the accident. Norfolk Southern is inspecting all of the tankers to ensure each is empty before dismantling the cars for transport and disposal. All of the derailed tankers on the 80-car freight train contained ethanol.
Department of Environmental Protection staff have met with Norfolk Southern representatives who will be conducting an environmental assessment to determine the scope and extent of soil contamination at the crash site, and any required cleanup.
Drinking water supplies, which were never affected, remain safe. All downstream drinking water intakes were secured at the time of the accident. DEP conducted additional sampling at Midland Water Authority’s plant as a precaution.
Department staff took additional river water samples as the tankers were removed today. The department also took soil samples after all the wreckage was removed.
All four lanes of the state Route 18 bridge between New Brighton and Beaver Falls are open as well. Two of the four lanes were opened Sunday.
Local and county emergency management responded quickly to the incident, demonstrating the strength of a regional approach when dealing with such an accident. Additional equipment and personnel were supplied by the multi-county Region 13 Task Force.
Various state agencies responded to the accident, including the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, DEP, state police and the Department of Transportation. Members of the Civil Air Patrol, which was on a training exercise in Westmoreland County, conducted overflights of the scene to provide photos and aid in site assessment.