This photo taken by drone shows sections of the Norfolk and Southern freight trains that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio still burning midday Saturday.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
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Gene J. Puskar/AP
This photo taken by drone shows sections of the Norfolk and Southern freight trains that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio still burning midday Saturday.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – A technical problem with the rolling stock shaft has caused Dozens of train cars derailed on fire in Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line on Friday night, federal investigators announced Sunday. Smoldering cars, some carrying dangerous materials, put the evacuation order into effect.
Michael Graham, a council member for the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference that the three-member train had received a warning of a mechanical failure “just before the derailment” but said The board is still working to determine which prescription. experienced problem.
About 50 carriages derailed in East Palestine around 9 p.m. Friday as a train was carrying a variety of goods from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, rail operator Norfolk Southern said. No injuries to crew, residents or first responders have been reported.
Graham said investigators also pinpointed the “derailment point” but did not disclose the location on Sunday. He said the information would be included in a preliminary investigative report expected in the next month or so.
East Palestinian officials said on Sunday that emergency responders were monitoring but keeping their distance from the blaze, saying remedial efforts could not begin as long as the cars were smoldering. . Officials said the evacuation covered a 1-mile (1.6 km) radius, while environmental agencies carefully monitored air quality monitors.
Mayor Trent Conaway, who declared a state of emergency in the village, said one person had been arrested for circumventing barricades before the crash overnight. He warned that there would be more arrests if people did not stay away.
“I don’t know why anyone would want to be up there; you’re inhaling toxic fumes if you’re that close,” he said, noting that air quality monitors far away from the fire did not show the level of smoke. worrisome and safe water town as it is supplied by groundwater that is not affected by some material flowing into the streams. Environmental protection agency teams are working to remove contaminants from streams and monitor water quality.
Fire Chief Keith Drabick said it was important to avoid the area “because a train carrying dangerous materials has sunk in town and is on fire. It couldn’t be simpler.”
The sheriff went door-to-door on Sunday to count the remaining residents and urged everyone in the evacuation area to leave. “We are asking residents to please evacuate and cooperate,” officials said in a statement. Schools and village offices will close on Monday and officials will determine later that afternoon whether the school closures will be extended. Businesses in the evacuation zone will not be allowed to open on Monday, officials said.
Norfolk Southern says 20 of the more than 100 cars are classified as carrying hazardous materials – defined as cargo that could pose any type of hazard “including flammable, combustible or environmental risks.” Some cars carry vinyl chloride, and at least one is “continuously releasing” its contents through a pressure release device.
Officials said Sunday afternoon that the vehicles involved were also carrying flammable liquids, butyl acrylate and benzene residues from previous shipments, as well as non-hazardous materials such as wheat, plastic pellets and alcohol. malt and lubricating oil.
“Short-term exposure to low levels of derailment-related substances does not pose a long-term health risk to residents,” according to the “Frequently Asked Questions” post on the village’s Facebook page. “Vinyl chloride and benzene can cause cancer in people exposed in the workplace to high concentrations over many years; however, there is no indication of any potential exposure occurring after derailment increases the risk of cancer or any other long-term health effects in community members.”
The NTSB said only 10 cars carrying hazardous materials derailed and five of them were carrying vinyl chloride, not 14 as previously reported. And officials stressed again late Saturday that they have not confirmed vinyl chloride release beyond the pressure release devices operating as designed.
According to the federal government’s National Cancer Institute, vinyl chloride, which is used to make the hard plastic polyvinyl chloride in a variety of plastic products, is associated with an increased risk of liver and other cancers. Norfolk Southern must provide a fact sheet listing all chemicals involved.
The evacuation order covered the homes of 1,500 to 2,000 of the town’s 4,800 to 4,900 residents, but officials said it was unclear exactly how many people were actually affected. About eight residents remain in an emergency shelter. Norfolk Southern has opened a support center in the village to gather information from affected residents; Village officials said 75 people went to the center on Saturday and about 100 people went there on Sunday morning.
