Chemicals contained after freight train derailment in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- CSX is in the process of cleaning up hazardous materials after one of its trains derailed in Northwestern Washington, D.C., Sunday morning.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said 13 cars derailed, and CSX has moved in to the cleanup phase of the incident, NBC News reported. She said Metro will inspect the track, but it was not clear whether future Metro operations would be affected.

It was not immediately clear what caused the derailment, ABC News reported.

The hazardous material reportedly leaking from one of the overturned cars was sodium hydroxide, a chemical used in household products such as soap and detergents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the chemical, which is commonly known as lye, can cause skin and eye irritations and breathing problems. The spill was reportedly confined to the track bed.

Bowser said the tracks are also used by Amtrak and MARC services. The mayor said Amtrak's Capital Limited service, which runs daily between Washington, D.C., and Chicago, currently is unavailable. MARC service on the Brunswick Line, which runs between Washington, D.C., and Brunswick, Md, with continuing service to Martinsburg, W.V., also uses those tracks.

CSX said in a statement that the train was traveling from Cumberland, Md. to Hamlet, N.C., when it derailed.

CSX said no injuries have been reported and no evacuations were necessary.

Chris Vellum lives nearby and his window looks directly over the tracks. "I thought it was like a semi-truck coming toward the building and when I looked out the window, I saw cars piling up," said Nellum. He had just moved in the night before. "So I'm not even used to hearing trains. It was jarring," ABC News reported.

Nellum said his girlfriend tried to leave the area, but was told to stay put. She eventually found a way out.

"She's an environmentalist so she is very concerned about whatever is leaking," Nellum said.

The train derailed near 9th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NE. Early reports from D.C. Fire and EMS were that nine to 10 cars overturned, WUSA9 reported.

D.C. Fire and EMS tweeted they had confirmed one derailed car leaking sodium hydroxide.

CSX officials said the train had three locomotives, 175 total cars, including 94 carrying mixed freight and 81 empty cars.

The incident spurred D.C. MetroRail to suspend train service between the NoMa and Brookland stations, the Washington City Paper reported. The area is also closed to traffic.

This story is developing.