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TSB to carry out full probe of CN train derailment in New Brunswick

Derailed train cars burn in Plaster Rock, N.B., Wednesday, Jan.8, 2014.
Derailed train cars burn in Plaster Rock, N.B., Wednesday, Jan.8, 2014. Tom Bateman/The Canadian Press

PLASTER ROCK, N.B. – The federal Transportation Safety Board will conduct a full investigation into the cause of a CN train derailment in northwestern New Brunswick last week.

Safety board spokesman John Cottreau says investigators have finished gathering evidence in the community of Wapske, where 19 cars in the 122-car freight train jumped the tracks on Tuesday.

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A CN spokesman has said investigators were looking at the possibility a wheel or axle problem on a freight car was to blame, but no conclusions have been reached.

Cottreau says the safety agency will look at the underlying causes of the derailment, which resulted in the evacuation of about 150 people.

Richard Keeley, a regional director with the Environment Department, says the province is testing 50 wells for pollution and results will be reported by the provincial Health Department on Tuesday.

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He says two people whose house is within 100 metres of the derailment were still unable to return home on Monday because of a spill of petroleum products on their property.

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