View the Slideshow >>

(Gallery by Joe Warner/South Jersey Times)

PAULSBORO — Three railroad tank cars tumbled into the Mantua Creek and are leaking flammable vinyl chloride after the train bridge collapsed at about 7 a.m.

At least 18 people at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal have complained of respiratory distress and ambulances have been dispatched for them.

Residents in the immediate area are being evacuated. Rescue workers and others who have been exposed to the vapors are being sent to Underwood-Memorial Hospital in Woodbury for decontamination and treatment, if needed. Gloucester County officials said those who have been taken to Underwood-Memorial are reporting symptoms of sore throats. The county's health department has reached out to the hospital to offer assistance.

A hospital official there said 11 people were brought in from the scene and treated, as well as 17 walk-ins, all with respiratory problems.

At least one of the cars is carrying vinyl chloride — a colorless gas with a sweet odor that is easily ignited. The chemicals in two of the cars are unknown, according to Gloucester County Freeholder Director Robert Damminger.

Three boxcars also derailed and turned on their sides at the scene, near East Jefferson Street

A local environmental cleanup company has been called out to help place booms in the creek, county officials said. The Gloucester County HazMat Team and HazMat team for the PRC Refinery are conducting metering and monitoring, county officials said.

This is the same bridge that collapsed in August 2009 as a 50-car coal train passed over it, spilling 16 cars into the water.

“When you live between two oil refineries, you have a sense that these things can happen," said Assemblyman John Burzichelli, who lives in Paulsboro. "You plan for them. You hope they never happen. Today this happened. At this point, so far, so good. It has been a lot of inconvenience.”

Paulsboro schools are in a lockdown. Students who hadn't made it to school were advised to return home and a mass phone message went to all families with students in the school system advising them of the lockdown.

"We locked down which means all the kids are in the gym there (at the high school),” Paulsboro Superintendent Frank Scambia said. “Nobody is allowed in or out.”

The "Shelter in Place" activation was issued by the county's Office of Emergency Management and is affecting Paulsboro, East Greenwich and West Deptford.

"We very much regret the impact on the local community and fully appreciate the effort of emergency response officials. Conrail’s first concern is public safety. Every effort will be made to assure this situation is resolved as safely and quickly as possible," said Conrail spokesman John Enright. "All aspects of the tracks and bridge and rail cars are part of the investigation.”





The Gloucester County Health Department also closed its Paulsboro WIC office for the day and sent staff to its main building in Washington Township.

Gloucester County officials offered some facts about vinyl chloride:

• It's used to make PVC which is used in a variety of common plastic products such as pipes, cable coatings, packing materials etc.

• Heavier than air and can travel along the ground

• Burns easily is not stable at high temperatures

• Exposure may cause eye or throat irritation, headache, shortness of breath.

• Breathing high levels of Vinyl Chloride can cause dizziness and/or sleepiness

• Breathing very high levels can cause loss of consciousness

• Breathing extremely high levels can cause death

Contact the South Jersey Times at 856-845-3300 or at news@southjerseymedia.com

Subscribe to the South Jersey News Flash e-newsletter to get the day's news sent to your inbox.