A derailed train triggers panic in the Usa. In early February, a convoy carrying chemicals derailed in the US state causing a huge fire in East Palestine, a village in Ohio. Fearing a serious explosion, authorities quickly evacuated the area and carried out a controlled release of toxic fumes to neutralize the burning cargo. The residents are very worried and this is demonstrated by the millions of tweets (some of these conspiracy theorists, to tell the truth) from those who fear for their health due to the effects of those fumes.
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But what happened? At approximately 9:00 p.m. local time on February 3, a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, a village of about 4,700 people about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. About 50 of the train’s 150 cars went off the rails en route from Madison, Illinois to Conway, Pennsylvania.
The train, operated by Norfolk Southerncarried chemicals and combustible materials, such as vinyl chloride, a toxic flammable gas, which has indeed aroused the greatest concern for investigators. From there, a huge fire broke out, causing thick smoke to rise in the sky and over the city. Residents on both sides of the Ohio-Pennsylvania border were ordered to evacuate the area.
The damage to the environment
The derailment aroused concerns about air pollution, soil and water. On February 10, the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) said that about 20 railroad cars were carrying hazardous materials. Chemicals including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate were released into the air, soil and waters. On Feb. 12, the EPA, after monitoring the air, said it hadn’t detected contaminants at “worrisome levels,” although residents can still smell the substances.
On Feb. 8, the governor’s office said residents were being allowed to go home after air quality samples measured contaminants below levels of concern. There were no reports of injuries or deaths from the derailment, but millions in the US are wondering how safe the area is. On social media, some residents said fish and frogs were dying in local streams. Some shared pictures of dead animals or said they smelled chemicals around the city.
Added to this is the arrest of a journalist during a press conference on the derailment which led to online criticism of the response of the police, accused of wanting to cover up what happened. Residents meanwhile have complained of headaches and malaise after the derailment. A federal lawsuit filed by two Pennsylvania residents is seeking to force Norfolk Southern to institute health monitoring for residents in both states and pay for related care for those within a 30-mile radius.
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