CINCINNATI — Several train cars derailed Saturday night in Queensgate, the Cincinnati Fire Department (CFD) said, and now the Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the incident.
CFD said crews were dispatched to a train derailment near the 1300 block of W Mehring Way around 9 p.m. The train cars were operated by CSX, and Cincinnati police, the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati also responded to the derailment.
Officials found that eight train cars, which were carrying a shipment of new automobiles, derailed, Some of the train cars struck the support columns for the 6th Street Viaduct, while one disconnected and fell into the Mill Creek, CFD said. Police told WCPO 9 that there were no hazardous materials on the train cars, but the EPA is investigating after CSX said a petroleum mixture from motor vehicles that were on the train spilled.
In a statement, CSX said a train car derailed into the Mill Creek. That car has since been removed.
"CSX immediately activated its emergency response procedures and deployed containment boom into the creek as a precaution," CSX said in a statement. "Around 7 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17, response crews observed an unknown quantity of a petroleum mixture in the creek. Crews are continuing to monitor containment measures and have observed no new impacts to the creek while actively working to recover the product."
CSX said its focus is on the "health and safety of onsite staff and personnel and mitigating risk to the environment."
The cause of the derailment is still under investigation, CSX said.
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