What we know about the Ohio train derailment
East Palestine, Ohio—Hundreds of people evacuated an Ohio town after a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed on Feb. 3 and the company was forced to vent and burn carcinogenic chemicals from crashed train cars. The Norfolk Southern train was pulling at least five tanker cars containing vinyl chloride, a colorless but hazardous gas used to produce PVC plastic and vinyl products.
Norfolk Southern officials said some of the cars carrying the vinyl chloride were not breached during the crash but were at risk of exploding, so crews released and burned their contents on Feb. 6, creating a massive smoke plume above the town for several hours.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday authorized the operation of the release and burning of the vinyl chloride at the crash site, saying officials faced two bad options between potentially letting a car containing the material explode or doing the release.
An axle of one of the 150 cars is believed to be the cause of the derailment of at least 50 of the cars, has been the focus point for the National Transportation Safety Board.
East Palestine residents who evacuated were allowed to return to their homes but have complained of smells, headaches, nausea and other ailments, according to the Washington Post. High levels of vinyl chloride, a classified human carcinogen, in the air is known to attack the nervous system, cause harn to the liver according to EPA. When vinyl chloride burns it decomposes into hydrogen chloride and phosgene, a chemical used extensively in World War I as a choking agent.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates that 3,500 fish of 12 different species, none of which are endangered, died after the crash across approximately 7.5 miles of streams south of the town, ODNR director Mary Mertz said on Tuesday. The EPA stated it has not detected any levels of concern, though the agency continues to monitor air quality in and around East Palestine.