East Palestine no relation Ohio United States pollution
A train derailment occurred on February 3, 2023, at 8:55 p.m. EST (UTC−5), when 38 cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, United States. Several railcars burned for more than two days, with emergency crews then conducting a controlled burn of several railcars which released hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air. As a result, residents within a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) radius were evacuated, and an emergency response was initiated from agencies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.Derailment
Security footage from a business in Salem, Ohio (20 miles [32 km] northwest from East Palestine), and a Ring doorbell camera from New Waterford, Ohio (4 miles [6 km] northwest from East Palestine), show fire emanating from underneath a rail car as it went by on the tracks. After this, at around 8:55 pm EST on February 3, 2023, 51 cars derailed on the east side of East Palestine, near the border with Pennsylvania. 49 of the cars ended up in a derailment pile, which caught fire and burned for several days. Of the 51 derailed cars, 11 of them were tank cars which dumped 100,000 gallons of hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, benzene residue, and butyl acrylate.
About 48 hours later, the NTSB released preliminary findings indicating that the derailment was caused by a mechanical problem on one of the railcars' trucks, which may be connected to reports that an axle was observed throwing sparks about an hour before. The crew received an alarm from a wayside defect detector shortly before the derailment indicating a mechanical problem, and then an emergency brake application initiated.Emergency response and burn off
Nearly 70 emergency agencies from Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania mobilized in response. East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway declared a state of emergency.Norfolk Southern personnel were first to respond on February 3. On February 4, they noticed water spillage into Sulphur Run and Leslie Run, and installed booms and underflow dams to separate the floating pollutant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began monitoring air quality on February 3. According to the EPA, humans can smell butyl acrylate at a concentration lower than the screening level (exposure limit). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended exposure limit for butyl acrylate is time-weighted average 10 ppm (55 mg/m3).On February 5, a temperature change in one of the train cars caused fears of an explosion with the potential to disperse shrapnel as the fires continued to burn. Although five cars containing vinyl chloride remained intact following the crash, the relief valve on one of the cars had malfunctioned. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine activated the Ohio National Guard to assist local authorities in what he called "a matter of life and death". Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ordered an evacuation in areas of Beaver County which bordered the site. Officials in both states went door-to-door to evacuate residents. The fire from the accident burned until February 5.On February 6, DeWine and Shapiro ordered the mandatory evacuation of all residents within a 1-by-2-mile (1.6 by 3.2 km) area. In an effort to prevent further explosions, Norfolk Southern emergency crews conducted a controlled release and burn of the five tanks of vinyl chloride into the air. Small shaped charges were used to breach the tank cars, and the vinyl chloride was allowed to flow into a trench, where it was ignited by flares. The burn caused black clouds to form above the area, and released phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air. Although officials reported that air quality readings were not showing anything concerning, residents in nearby Mahoning and Trumbull counties reported a chemical smell in their areas. Officials in the Youngstown region advised residents to stay indoors. Air monitoring conducted on February 7–8 revealed an increase in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air below the screening level and an increase in particulate matter, probably from the soot.On February 8, state and federal EPA workers noticed oily spillage on the soil and notified Norfolk Southern, which began removing it with a vacuum truck.On the evening of February 8, Norfolk Southern resumed traffic through the town. East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said that he was displeased because the railroad had said that trains would not run again until all residents were able to return to their homes. On the morning of February 10, Amtrak Capitol Limited trains resumed passing through East Palestine.The evacuation was lifted on February 9 after the EPA reported that the air inside and outside the evacuation zone had returned to normal levels. Although toxicants were detected at the derailment site, they were not detected outside the area. The Ohio EPA also reported that drinking water (sourced from different waterways) was safe. In a testing report from February 8, the Ohio EPA showed WKBN-TV that vinyl chloride, benzene, some chlorinated organic compounds, and other VOCs were not detected in the water.On February 16 the Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael S. Regan visited the scene to provide assistance.
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