Ohio train spill

Air monitoring continues in East Palestine after the crews released a number of toxic chemicals in what officials called a "controlled explosion" last week.

[list](https://response.epa.gov/sites/15933/files/TRAIN%2032N%20-%20EAST%20PALESTINE%20-%20derail%20list%20Norfolk%20Southern%20document.pdf), written by Norfolk Southern, of the toxic chemicals that were in the derailed cars. [several other hazardous chemicals](https://response.epa.gov/sites/15933/files/FINAL%20East%20Palestine%20Train%20Derailment%20Air%20Monitoring%20FAQ%202.9.23.pdf), including phosgene and hydrogen chloride, which are released by burning vinyl chloride. When it is spilled in soil or surface water, the chemical evaporates into the air quickly, according to the Ohio Department of Health. It it commonly used to make polyvinyl chloride or PVC, which is a kind of plastic used for pipes, wire and cable coatings and car parts. She also advises vacuuming carefully in short bursts to try to prevent contaminants from moving into the air. There are 181 homes left to be evaluated in the voluntary indoor air screening program. 6, crews conducted what officials called a "controlled release" of the hazardous chemicals which caused a large plume of black smoke. 3, about 50 cars of a Norfolk Southern train went off track in Ohio, causing a days-long fire in the area. Ten of the 50 derailed cars contained hazardous chemicals including butyl acrylate and vinyl chloride, which were among combustible liquids that authorities feared could set off Residents of East Palestine were later asked to evacuate out of precaution. The agency added that vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride have not been detected in the 291 homes that have been screened as of Monday. Local officials have insisted that the air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink in East Palestine.

The derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals released more hazardous substances than first reported, adding to the distrust and fear of residents in ...

Investigators probing the toxic train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, are reviewing multiple videos of the train prior to it derailing.

The estimation of the dead fish came after initial testing and sampling by the state agency, Mertz said. This strategy, along with drinking water treatment…are both effective at addressing these contaminants and helps ensure the safety of the drinking water supplies,” Kavalec said, adding that they’re pretty confident that the “low levels” of contaminants that remain are not getting passed onto customers. Bruce Vanderhoff said that air quality does not appear to be the source. Investigators will return to complete an examination of the tank cars once they are fully decontaminated, the NTSB said. The wreckage burned for days as authorities worried about the possibility of a widespread, deadly explosion. It’s believed to be moving about a mile an hour, Kavalec said.

Residents of the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, are back in their homes this week following their evacuations over looming explosion fears after a ...

“Not one of the seven major U.S. “If something is not done, then it’s going to get worse, and the next derailment could be cataclysmic.” In a statement to The Hill, Ohio Sen. He suggested the rest of the major rail carriers reach voluntary deals of their own. It’s gonna take time to know what the effects are,” Matthew Smith, an official with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, told WKBN. “In this day and age you don’t know when you’re going to get sick. (AP Photo/Gene J. 9, 2023 as the cleanup continues after the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train Friday. This photo taken with a drone shows the continuing cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio, Thursday, Feb. If detected, officials told local station WLWT they could shut off intake valves to allow the chemical plume to drift by. A HEPACO worker places booms in a stream in East Palestine, Ohio, Thursday, Feb. The accident has also raised scrutiny over safety regulations.

Efforts to keep costs down and make railroads more efficient have made trains less safe, experts told USA TODAY.

But a USA TODAY analysis of federal safety data by rate of train accidents per million train miles shows that the rate of accidents has been ticking up for Norfolk Southern progressively over the past decade. In 2017, a 121-car Norfolk Southern train derailed in Pell City, Alabama, leading to a release of hazardous material with minor evacuations. “In our view, I don’t think you can separate the drastic reduction in workforce over the past seven or eight years, from the increase in accidents, the rate of safety incidents,” said Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, the union representing rail labor. Oberman, chairman of the North American Rail Shippers Association, in a 2021 speech. The labor union also noted in a presentation last month that very long trains can impact braking performance, decrease time for thorough inspections and increase the likelihood of catastrophic derailments. The derailed Norfolk Southern train in Ohio resulted in large plumes of black smoke over the rural 5,000-person community, as crews did a “controlled release” of the hazardous materials on board to avoid an explosion. Average train lengths in 2017 were between 1.2 and 1.4 miles, according to data provided by two major railroads to the U.S. The labor union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, has noted that very long trains can lead to interruptions in radio communications with crew members or wayside defect detectors. The tank car carrying butyl acrylates was breached and the entire load was lost in the spill and subsequent fire, according to EPA documentation. The Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine was carrying flammable liquids, benzene and butyl acrylates, according to the U.S. Had industry lobbying interests not prevailed on the 2015 rule, the Norfolk Southern Railway train involved in the Feb. [train derailment and subsequent fire](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/07/quebec-train-derailment-deaths-explosions/2496811/) in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killed 47 people and required all but three downtown buildings to be demolished for safety reasons.

A train derailed and caught fire in eastern Ohio, releasing hazardous chemicals into the air, soil and water – and raising concerns about health effects for ...

The EPA is continuing to monitor air quality around East Palestine, and is testing individual homes near the derailment as part of a “re-entry” screening process. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the spill had killed [thousands of fish following the crash,](https://www.insider.com/animals-sick-dying-after-ohio-train-derailment-caused-chemical-leak-2023-2) but the chicken incident has not officially been linked to the spill. Water treatment operators downstream on the Ohio river also said they had According to the EPA website, these chemicals may produce an odour at concentrations below safe levels. [state and local officials announced](https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/east-palestine-update-residents-can-safely-return-home-02082023) that air quality monitoring had not detected contaminants of concern above levels considered safe for humans, and it was safe for people to return home. Just before 9pm on 3 February, a train carrying hazardous chemicals partially derailed and caught fire in eastern Ohio, sending thick black smoke into the air.

The fiery derailment of a train in East Palestine has prompted concern that the drinking water some five million people rely on could be impacted.

[Louisville](https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2023/02/13/louisville-water-company-on-ohio-river-spill) and Evansville, Indiana, are also monitoring their intake from the Ohio River. Lying underneath the river is a massive aquifer, appropriately named the and they're nearby, that's something different altogether," said David Stradling, director of Environmental Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Utilities can also limit or shut off their intake if the concentration of something in a water supply is high enough to warrant concern. [letter](https://epaosc.org/sites/15933/files/Norfolk%20Southern%20East%20Palestine%20Train%20Derailment%20General%20Notice%20Letter%202.10.2023.pdf) the U.S. Griesmer said treatments used by public water systems near the Ohio River are likely effective at removing butyl acrylate, which is used to make paint and adhesives. The company conducted a "controlled release" of the vinyl chloride to prevent an explosion, prompting an evacuation of the area. "We've put a lot of effort and money into making certain this infrastructure works. (And probably the Mississippi river as well.) Decades of health effects," reads one The amounts found so far do not pose any health risks, EPA spokeswoman Heidi Griesmer said Tuesday. "Hey y’all remember the massive poison cloud over East Palestine, Ohio? Five of the cars contained vinyl chloride, a colorless gas used to make hard plastic resin in products like credit cards and PVC pipes.

Plumes of smoke, questions about dead animals, worries about the drinking water. A train derailment in Ohio and subsequent burning of some of the hazardous ...

After a 150-car freight train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, highly flammable toxic chemicals were released across the ...

Norfolk Southern did not send representatives to a February 15 [town hall](https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/15/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-residents/index.html), [releasing a statement](https://twitter.com/JBaker_WTOV/status/1625973426325258241?s=20) that the company was “increasingly concerned about the growing physical threat to employees.” On the morning of February 16, another Norfolk Southern train, also carrying hazardous materials, [derailed outside Detroit](https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-norfolk-southern-train-derails-near-detroit-f81aa003). Emily Wright, director of River Valley Organizing, which has been warning about the possibility of a “ [bomb train](https://www.dispatch.com/story/opinion/columns/guest/2023/02/14/east-palestine-norfolk-southtrain-derailment-people-30-miles-away-feel-impact-of-ohio-chemical-spill/69902369007/)” combusting toxic materials in the community for decades, says the response is not sufficient and residents should be receiving soil- and surface-testing results. “I would be drinking the bottled water, and I would be continuing to find out what the tests were showing as far as the air,” DeWine agreed at a [news conference](https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/ohio/east-palestine-train-derailment-ohio-governor-mike-dewine-press-conference-february-14/95-e85807c0-6661-4141-9781-40e22af6022b) on February 14. “I would be alert and concerned, but I think I would probably be back in my house.” The following day, however, DeWine [tweeted](https://twitter.com/GovMikeDeWine/status/1625962388603404288) that the “municipal water is safe to drink.” [wrestled to the ground and arrested](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cops-arrest-newsnation-reporter-ohio_n_63e466cfe4b07f036b9a7461) by Ohio State Highway Patrol officers after broadcasting live during a press conference given by DeWine. Residents have also [observed dead fish](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/residents-ohio-train-derailment-report-dead-fish-chickens-rcna70378) in local creeks and rivers, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources [now estimates](https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/east-palestine-train-derailment/odnr-estimates-3-500-fish-killed-by-east-palestine-train-derailment-spill) about 3,500 fish were killed, “mostly small suckers, minnows, darters and sculpin.” [message to its members](https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Special-Report--Monster-Train-Wreck-in-Ohio.html?soid=1116509035139&aid=fzMOujXbqBo), Railroad Workers United, an inter-union caucus of rail workers, shared the same [video](https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2023/02/10/east-palestine-train-derailment-video-fire-axle-alert/stories/202302100070) showing the fiery axle, noting, “If this footage is authentic, it’s very likely that car caused the derailment. Groundwater contamination is a potential concern, Kurt Rhoads, an engineering professor at Case Western Reserve University, [told the Dispatch](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/02/14/is-the-ohio-river-contaminated-east-palestine-train-derailment-sparks-concerns-over-water/69900528007/), but it’s too early to detect it. On February 9, evacuated residents were told they could return home, yet the odor has persisted and many people [continue to report similar symptoms](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/12/east-palestine-ohio-derailment-residents/). On Monday, ten days after the derailment, Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg [made a statement](https://twitter.com/SecretaryPete/status/1625305036854009856?s=20&t=vBKSV_d4UNIfsIWeFQaPig) after multiple members of Congress demanded a stronger federal response — [even a congressional inquiry](https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1625265520638304259). [had not been alerted](https://grist.org/accountability/derailed-train-cars-ohio-not-labeled-toxic-cargo/) that what was considered a “high-hazardous-material train” was traveling through Ohio. Department of Defense, worried about the tankers that hadn’t already combusted, instituted a “vent and burn” operation, a [controlled ignition](https://www.npr.org/2023/02/06/1154760911/ohio-train-derailment) they claimed would allow the chemicals to safely dissipate.

Nearly two weeks after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, confusing messages from government officials have frayed locals' ...

Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, denounced Norfolk Southern for its “poor handling” of the derailment, charging that “prioritizing an accelerated and arbitrary timeline to reopen the rail line injected unnecessary risk and created confusion in the process.” The way that the response from Norfolk Southern and government officials has unfolded has deepened a conviction among many here that they have been treated as expendable victims of powerful forces. Mike DeWine of Ohio, a Republican, called it “absurd” that Norfolk Southern had not been required to notify local officials about the train’s contents before it came through because of its classification, calling for congressional action and dangling the threat of legal action should the company fail to pay for the cleanup. Noting that people were making stickers that said, “I Survived the Toxic Train Wreck 2/2/23,” Mr. [posted online](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063456597041) from a business in Salem, Ohio, 20 miles from the derailment, which seemed to show flames coming from underneath the train, raising further questions about when it became clear that the train was at risk of derailing. Officials can test and say it is safe for now, he said, but he does not believe that the chemicals released in the controlled burn simply disappear. [intentionally burn](https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/east-palestine-update-evacuation-area-extended-controlled-release-of-rail-car-contents-planned-for-3-30-pm-02062023) some of the chemicals to defuse the threat of an explosion that could have sent shrapnel and toxic fumes flying. “We will be judged by our actions,” Alan Shaw, the Norfolk Southern president and chief executive, said in a statement. “I just don’t trust anybody,” said Mike Routh, 28, standing in the parking lot of the Abundant Life Fellowship church in New Waterford, a town five miles west of East Palestine. A day later, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said it was “confident that the municipal water is safe to drink” after a series of tests did not show contaminants, but encouraged those with private wells to test their water. Parts of East Palestine were forced to evacuate within three days of the derailment, when state officials agreed to the company’s request to Confusing and seemingly shifting messages from government and railroad officials have frayed the local trust, which was already thin in a town battered by decades of mill and plant closures.

An overwhelming stench of chlorine filled the air this week where Nathen Velez and his wife had been raising their two children, quickly burning his throat ...

The chemicals are a “contaminant plume” the Ohio EPA and other agencies have tracked in real time and is believed to be moving about a mile an hour, she said. are both effective at addressing these contaminants and helps ensure the safety of the drinking water supplies,” Kavalec said, adding they’re pretty confident “low levels” of contaminants that remain are not getting to customers. Air monitoring results posted Tuesday at the [EPA’s website](https://epaosc.org/sites/15933/files/Continuous%20Air%20Monitoring%20Summary%20Table_20230213%201.pdf) include more than a dozen instruments, each with four types of measures – and each stating its “screening level” had not been exceeded. “This is because some of the substances involved have a low odor threshold. “Volatile organic compounds share, with a host of other things, the ability to cause very common symptoms at the lower levels – so headache, eye irritation, nose irritation, et cetera,” he said. So far, no chemical detections were identified in the air of 291 homes screened by the EPA for hazardous chemicals including vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride, it said in [ a Monday news update](https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=15933), with schools and a library also screened and 181 more homes to go. “It’s hard to make an investment in something like that or even feel good about paying our mortgage whenever there might not be any value to those things in the future,” he said. A company spokesperson said “some soil is moved around” during the initial response phase. “My wife is a nurse and is not taking any chances exposing us and our two young children to whatever is now in our town,” Velez wrote on Facebook. It is not yet known what significance or impact the soil that was not removed prior to the rail line reopening may have on surrounding areas. “Every time it rains, a flood of new contaminants will enter the ecosystem.” Of those, the vinyl chloride gas that caught fire could break down into compounds including hydrogen chloride and phosgene, a chemical weapon used during World War I as [ a choking agent](https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/phosgene/basics/facts.asp), according to [the EPA](https://epaosc.org/sites/15933/files/FINAL%20East%20Palestine%20Train%20Derailment%20Air%20Monitoring%20FAQ%202.9.23.pdf) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vinyl chloride is one of many potentially dangerous chemicals spilled during the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The Initially, these documents had included findings from multiple studies that cited “suggestive epidemiological evidence that cancer of the brain, lung, and lymphopoietic system are associated with exposure.” However, in 1999 the [ agency received a letter from the chemical industry ](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257639/#b31-ehp0113-000809)that raised doubts about connections to other types of cancer, aside from those that attack the liver, and called for these other threats to “be deleted from the final review.” Such a decision precluded the EPA “from developing a standard based on an assessment of the total cancer risk to all organs,” which is required under the agency’s own guidelines. Today, without pressure from the federal government, many cargo trains use brake systems that are not dissimilar to those developed during the 1800s. [three scientists warned](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257639/) that changes to the EPA’s chemical review process “that would give industry officials greater input in the science behind its risk reviews” could have catastrophic consequences for public health. Companies with trains that meet these classifications must inform state leaders before the cargo passes through, providing greater oversight capabilities to state-level authorities. For those in the blast area, it is critical to see a doctor if you or anyone in your household begins to present with these symptoms. The Department of Transportation began considering new rules to increase safety protocols for locomotives classified as a “high hazard flammable train.” Lobbyists from both the chemical and rail industry fought the government on these new requirements and were able to limit the scope of what trains would fall under this more scrutinized classification. After a catastrophic derailment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to test the air quality, including for traces of vinyl chloride. The levels recorded have fallen in recent days. The EPA set the screening value at 0.5 ppm, and levels above that threshold have not been picked up in the area. “Vinyl Chloride is a CARCINOGEN in humans.

The train derailment and chemical spill was the culmination of a long trend of cost-cutting in the rail industry.

[electronically controlled pneumatic](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2022-03/ECP%20Brake%20Device.pdf) (ECP) brakes for trains creates redundancy in the braking system and allows trains to apply brakes to all of their cars simultaneously. In a [report last year](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2022-03/ECP%20Brake%20Device.pdf), the FRA said that these brakes “improve both safety and braking performance of trains” but that train companies have been reluctant to invest in them due to cost. “In my view, all of this has directly contributed to where we are today — rail users experiencing serious deteriorations in rail service because, on too many parts of their networks, the railroads simply do not have a sufficient number of employees,” Martin Oberman, chair of the Surface Transportation Board, said in a [statement last year](https://www.stb.gov/news-communications/latest-news/pr-22-21/). [precision-scheduled railroading](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/11/rail-strike-why-the-railroads-wont-give-in-on-paid-leave-psr-precision-scheduled-railroading.html) that aggressively optimizes to run as much cargo with as few workers as possible. “The Department’s analysis shows that the expected costs of requiring ECP brakes would be significantly higher than the expected benefits of the requirement,” according to a Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration statement. [butyl acrylate did reach the Ohio River](https://apnews.com/article/ohio-train-derailment-bcc6198dfbde42feefdeca8f24ccaea8), but that it doesn’t pose a hazard to drinking water. [a variety of chemicals](https://response.epa.gov/sites/15933/files/TRAIN%2032N%20-%20EAST%20PALESTINE%20-%20derail%20list%20Norfolk%20Southern%20document.pdf) including vinyl chloride. [Government Accountability Office](https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-19-443.pdf). Mike DeWine issued a [formal request](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/OHIOGOVERNOR/2023/02/16/file_attachments/2411938/chief%20of%20staff%20sherri%20berger%20letter%202.16.23.pdf) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send experts to East Palestine to advise and help residents sort through their health problems in the wake of the disaster. “There are fewer derailments over time,” said Steven Ditmeyer, a former head of the office of research and development at the FRA. One resident told the [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/12/east-palestine-ohio-derailment-residents/) this week that the air smells like nail polish remover and burning tires. [dead fish in streams](https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/worried-residents-near-ohio-train-derailment-report-dead-fish-and-chickens-as-authorities-say-its-safe-to-return/3499267/) and dead chickens in backyard coops.

The toxic release from the Ohio derailment continues to pose health questions. Here's what we know about East Palestine, Norfolk Southern railway and other ...

The Environmental Protection Agency has said the air is safe to breathe and Norfolk Southern, the rail company, has pledged to clean up. Josh Shapiro has said Norfolk Southern mismanaged its response to the disaster. 3, causing a massive fire, displacing residents and threatening public health.

The social media platform helped push the story into the mainstream while also fueling misinformation and conspiracy theories.

[animals dying](https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-train-derailment/health-concerns-mounting-as-animals-become-sick-after-train-derailment/) have unnerved people. Chinese media began covering the derailment, and the topic [trended](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64633990) on China’s Weibo social app as extended coverage of China’s spy balloon saturated news coverage in the US. Meanwhile, local news outlets have been [financially decimated](https://www.cjr.org/local_news/local_reporters_decline_coverage_density.php), creating coverage gaps. [Ten percent of all adults](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/10/21/more-americans-are-getting-news-on-tiktok-bucking-the-trend-on-other-social-media-sites/) say they get news from the app regularly. But the popularity has also led to alarmist posts and conspiracies. “This has always been happening: TikTok creators commenting on local news stories. After the wreck, there was a dearth of easily digestible, detailed information. All of that propels a story on apps like TikTok. “The nature of TikTok is so unique, that me—essentially, on paper, just a guy in my home office reading what’s going on—I was able to reach millions of people.” “If I didn’t come out and say something, I think that this could have just been swept under,” says Drombosky, who has a personal connection to someone affected by the disaster in East Palestine who alerted him to the derailment. Officials evacuated the region and began what they called a controlled release of chemicals from the train cars. They showed how a fire followed the wreck, with ominous dark smoke clouds billowing over the town of East Palestine.