PAULSBORO, N.J. (AP) - Investigators say there may have been a problem with a signal before a train derailed on a New Jersey rail bridge, spewing a hazardous chemical into the air.
National Transportation Safety Board chairman Deborah Hersman says her team has learned that a signal seemed to be malfunctioning at the bridge for the train's engineer Friday morning. The engineer called a dispatcher to get permission to cross the bridge despite the signal problems.
Two locomotives and the first five cars made it across safely before seven cars derailed.
More than 100 people remain out of their homes as officials continue efforts to clear vinyl chloride. The gas, used to make the common plastic PVC, can make people dizzy or sleepy.