Dozen sent to hospitals after derailed freight train leaks chemicals in S. Illinois

~ The spill forced the evacuation of more than 70 homes.

CHRISTOPHER, Ill. -- Residents who evacuated their homes Monday after a freight train derailed and leaked 20,000 gallons of petroleum products were allowed to return to the area in late afternoon, officials said.

The spill forced the evacuation of more than 70 homes and sent a dozen people to hospitals near this city of 2,800, about 20 miles north of Carbondale, Ill., officials said.

Two of the 21 cars that derailed from the 83-car union Pacific train leaked a petroleum product used as an additive for lubricating oil and a petroleum diesel-type lubricant, Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said.

He said rail service through the area was expected to resume by noon Tuesday.

Early air-quality tests around the derailment site came back clean, but it will take time before the area is back to normal, said Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Kevin Turner.

"It's a mess back there," Turner said. "It's going to take a long time to clean up."

About a dozen people were taken to two area hospitals for mild symptoms related to the spill, including burning or irritation of the throat, eyes and nose, said Tracey Karnes, a spokeswoman for Benton-based ambulance provider Mercy Regional Health Services.

The victims included residents and emergency responders, but the injuries weren't serious enough to require hospitalization, Karnes said.

Bound for Houston

The Union Pacific train was on its way to Chicago from Houston when the train derailed near a crossroads between a Burlington Northern Santa Fe track and Union Pacific rail around 2:35 a.m., said Barnes.

A cause has not been determined, said West Frankfort ffire Lt. Craig Lemmon.

"Several cars are piled on top of each other, 40 feet in the air," Lemmon said.

More than 70 homes in the area of Mitchell Lake were voluntarily evacuated as a result of the derailment, said Franklin County Emergency Management Agency director Ryan Buckingham.

The American Red Cross set up a shelter for evacuees at the Christopher Civic Center.

"There was kind of a smell in the air. It had a metallic taste, but kind of made the back of your throat burn a little bit, kind of scratchy," Brian Mosley, 19, said at the shelter after being examined at Marion Memorial Hospital. He and his grandparents live about 150 yards from the derailment site.

William Taylor, 73, woke up to the sound of two people "pounding like crazy" on the door of his house, located about an eighth of a mile from the derailment site.

"They told my wife there had been a train accident down there and that one tank car was spewing out whatever it was in that car," said Taylor, who went to the Red Cross shelter with his wife, Mary, and 15-year-old dog. "It's aggravating, to say the least."