Chemical spill shuts down Australian station

Emergency workers were called to the Morisset station, near Sydney, around 11 a.m., after track workers noticed chemical leaking out of a private freight train, an official told the Australian Associated Press.

The tanker was leaking sodium hypochlorite -- a chemical used for cleaning -- at the rate of about five litres per minute.

The spill did not pose a risk to nearby residents as there was no chemical vapour cloud, the official said.