TAMAROA, Ill. (AP) -- An elementary school was evacuated Thursday after a nearby car from a train that derailed earlier this month released toxic vapor into the air. No one was injured.
Officials evacuated the school, which is four blocks from the site, as a precaution. About 130 students and teachers were taken to a community center.
A 21-car Canadian National-Illinois Central freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed Feb. 9 while traveling through Tamaroa in southern Illinois. The wreck sparked chemical fires and prompted officials to evacuate everyone in the town of 800. Some people were kept out of their homes for almost a week.
Workers were removing the cars Thursday when a safety mechanism designed to release pressure inside the car was activated, causing the vapor's release, said Jack Burke, a spokesman for Canadian National-Illinois Central railroad.
``One of the cars was transporting hydrochloric acid and had hydrochloric acid residue pressure built up in the car,'' Burke said.
School officials said they hope to reopen the school Monday.
Tamaroa is about 65 miles southeast of St. Louis.
