Early on Monday morning, a CSX freight train operating on Norfolk Southern-owned tracks derailed, with more than a dozen of the train’s 40 cars falling off the tracks.
According to news reports, between 15 and 20 of the derailed cars were carrying hazardous materials, including one that was leaking what Whitemarsh Township Police described as “silicone pellets.” Nonetheless, the crash prompted a Level 2 hazmat response and “precautionary evacuations” of residents and businesses closest to the scene.
"It is not believed that further evacuations will be needed, but we will evaluate as we know more," town police added.
Video footage posted on social media from a helicopter flying over the scene showed the cars bent back and forth, accordion-like, in a stretch of tracks that pass through a wooded area.
Train operator CSX said in a statement that "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.”
The spokesperson later said that the crash appeared to be "weather related."
In February of this year in eastern Ohio near the Pennsylvania border, a Norfolk Southern train derailed and sparked a major fire in the town of East Palestine. Dozens of cars on the train were carrying toxic materials, and officials carried out a controlled burn-off of some of the cars carrying vinyl chloride to avoid a larger explosion. However, the chemicals were leaked into the atmosphere and surrounding environment, killing large numbers of wildlife, livestock, and pets, and causing respiratory issues and other ailments among the local population.
The East Palestine incident helped cast a new spotlight on rail safety issues in the US and the rise in industrial accidents across the country, prompting calls for new safety regulations.