ROANOKE, Va. – Crews removed 22 rail cars from the Roanoke River following a train derailment on Friday.
The train derailed after a bridge collapsed in Roanoke County Friday night. Workers are still working on removing 2,000 tons of coal from the river.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said there have been no impacts to local wildlife.
Norfolk Southern is collecting daily samples from the river and the first sample results are expected Tuesday.
DEQ is monitoring water quality with the Virginia Department of Health and local officials. The water supply and water quality is not currently affected, according to officials.
The Salem Water Treatment Plant is currently withdrawing from groundwater wells and not from the river at this time. The area has sufficient back-up water sources, so no negative impacts are expected. Soon after the spill occurred, the water treatment plant switched to back-up water sources, which prevented possible impacts from coal contamination.