Ohio toxic train derailment: how worried should people be?
- Environmental and health concerns grow in rural Ohio after February 3 derailment of train cars containing hazardous material
- One of the chemicals on the train was vinyl chloride, which is highly flammable and carcinogenic, especially through inhalation
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 chemicals has people asking: how worried should they be?
It’s been more than a week since about 50 cars of a freight train derailed in a fiery, mangled mess on the outskirts of East Palestine near the Pennsylvania state line, apparently because of a mechanical issue with a railcar axle.
No one was injured in that wreck. But concerns about air quality and the hazardous chemicals on board the train prompted some village residents to leave, and officials later ordered the evacuation of the immediate area as fears grew about a potential explosion of smouldering wreckage.
Officials seeking to avoid the danger of an uncontrolled blast chose to intentionally release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five railcars, sending flames and black smoke again billowing high into the sky.
The jarring scene left people questioning the potential health impacts for residents in the area and beyond, even as authorities maintained they were doing their best to protect people.
In the days since, residents’ concerns and questions have only abounded – amplified, in part, by misinformation spreading online.
