Thousands evacuated before ‘controlled release’ of toxic chemicals from massive train derailment
'They are describing the explosion as "potentially catastrophic,"' Governor Mike DeWine said.
Authorities in Ohio are planning a ‘controlled release’ of toxic chemicals after a freight train derailment sparked a massive fire.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the mandatory evacuation of thousands of residents of East Palestine, a small town of about 4,700 on the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The emergency started on Friday night, when a massive train derailment sparked an ongoing fire just west of the state line.
The train was carrying 100 cars, about 50 of which were derailed in the accident. Twenty of the cars were transporting hazardous material.
The cause of the derailment is currently unknown and is under investigation by operator Norfolk Southern Railways and the National Transportation Safety Board.
First responders are now worried that the fire will spread to rail cars carrying vinyl chloride. If those cars catch fire, it could cause an explosion propelling shrapnel and toxic fumes as far as a mile away.
‘They are describing the explosion as “potentially catastrophic,”‘ DeWine said.
The chemicals onboard the train have the potential to cause skin burns and lung damage to residents, DeWine said. Their fumes are also known to cause liver and other cancers.
Instead, DeWine and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro decided to move forward with the plan to intentionally release the materials at 3.30pm on Monday.
‘We’re gonna place a small charge, it’s gonna create hole about two and a half to three inches in the tank car,’ Scott Deutsch, a representative of Norfolk Southern Railway said alongside DeWine. The chemicals will then flow from the car into a ditch dug by emergency workers. They will then be ignited by flares placed on the sides of the ditch.
‘We’re doing this so that we can control this tank car that we have concerns with,’ Deutsch said. ‘This allows us to control that operation and not have the car react and do it itself.’
Deutsch said he expects the chemicals to burn anywhere from one to three hours.
‘If we don’t do that, the car could continue to polymerize, and the entire car will break apart.’
Ohio State Patrol officers and local sheriff’s deputies began issuing evacuation orders in parts of East Palestine on Sunday night. DeWine said about 100 people voluntarily evacuated.
On Monday, DeWine and Shapiro expanded the evacuation area and emphasized that it is mandatory.
‘You need to leave. You just need to leave. We are ordering you to leave. This is a matter of life and death,’ DeWine said.
The Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office warned any residents caught violating the evacuation zone would be charged with misconduct during an emergency, which is a fourth-degree misdemeanor and potentially child endangerment.
At least one person was arrested for approaching the burning train.
‘I don’t know why anybody would want to be up there, you’re breathing toxic fumes if you’re that close,’ East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said.
An evacuation shelter was set up for the town inside the gymnasium at East Palestine High School, which lies just outside the blast radius.
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