- Kayla Epstein and Nadine Yousif
- BBC reporter
image source,Dustin Franz/AFP via Getty Images
Smoke billows from a derailed freight train laden with hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.
Twelve days after a train laden with toxic chemicals derailed in the Ohio town of East Palestine, anxious residents are still demanding answers.
“It’s pretty dramatic right now,” said James Figley, who lives just a few blocks from the incident. “The whole town is in a commotion.”
63-year-old Figley is a graphic designer. On the evening of February 3, he was sitting on the sofa when he heard a terrible and harsh metal sound. He and his wife got in the car to check and found a hellish scene.
“There was a series of explosions, going on and on, and the smell was getting worse,” Figley said.
“Have you ever burned plastic in your backyard and had black smoke? That’s it,” he said. “It was black, completely black. You could tell it was a chemical smell. Burning eyes. If you were facing the wind, it could get really bad.”
The accident sparked a fire that panicked residents living a few blocks away.
Days later, a toxic plume appeared over the town as officials burned a dangerous chemical called vinyl chloride before it exploded.
Over the next few days, dead fish appeared in the stream. Officials later confirmed that the number ran into the tens of thousands. Residents nearby told local media that their chickens died suddenly, foxes panicked and other pets became ill. Residents complained of headaches, burning eyes and sore throats.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday that while the town’s air quality is safe, residents near the site of the toxic spill should drink bottled water as a precaution. State and federal officials assured residents they were removing contaminated soil from the site and that air and municipal water quality had now returned to normal.
The discrepancy between what some residents have told and what officials continue to promulgate has led to chaos and fear in East Palestine. Meanwhile, environmental and health experts have questioned whether the site is actually safe. Some social media users said officials were not telling residents the truth, despite frequent updates from government officials and anger at the railway company.
Some locals welcome the extra oversight. “There’s so much we don’t know,” Figley said.
Facts about the East Palestine train derailment
U.S. officials estimate that 3,500 fish from 12 different species died in nearby rivers as a result of the derailment.
Officials provided some details about the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train en route to Pennsylvania.
DeWine said at a news conference on Tuesday that 50 of the train’s approximately 150 cars had derailed. About 10 of these sections contained potentially toxic substances.
The National Transportation Safety Board has not yet determined the exact cause of the derailment, but the department said it may be related to a mechanical problem with one of the axles.
Substances carried by the trains include vinyl chloride, a colorless, hazardous gas used to make PVC plastic and vinyl products.
Vinyl chloride is also a carcinogen. Acute exposure to the chemical can cause dizziness, drowsiness and headaches, while long-term exposure can lead to liver damage and a rare form of liver cancer.
On February 6, after evacuating the adjacent area, officials conducted a controlled burn of the vinyl chloride. Federal, state and railroad experts concluded it was much safer than letting the material explode and send debris flying around the town, DeWine said, calling it the lesser of two evils.
The controlled burn produced apocalyptic smoke over eastern Palestine. The footage was widely shared on social media, with many shocked readers likening it to a disaster movie.
Days later, Gov. Devon, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the Norfolk Southern Railroad declared the flaring a success, and residents were allowed to return once officials deemed it safe.
“For us, when they said everything was settled, we decided we could come back,” said East Palestine resident John Myers, who lives with his family in a house near the derailment site.
He said he did not experience any negative side effects. “The air smells like it always does,” he said.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it had not detected any significant levels of the harmful substance in the air. The department said it has checked nearly 400 homes so far and found no chemicals, though it continues to check more homes in the area and monitor air quality.
After the accident, the EPA did find traces of the chemical in nearby water samples, including from the Ohio River. The agency said the contaminated water had entered storm drains. Ohio officials said they would test residents’ water supplies or drill new wells if needed.
On Wednesday, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency assured residents that wells in the local water system had been tested free of chemicals from the derailment and that municipal water was safe to drink.
‘Too much mistrust and doubt’
image source,Getty Images
Residents have been concerned about the possible impact on their health from toxic chemicals.
To some, the shocking images of toxic smog seemed at odds with the authorities’ recent move to lift the alert for eastern Palestine.
Social media users on Twitter and TikTok, in particular, have been following reports of animal injuries and images of vinyl chloride burning. They demanded more answers from officials.
Officials acknowledged the phenomenon was real after people posted videos of the dead fish to social media. About 3,500 fish of 12 different species died in a stream about 7.5 miles south of East Palestine, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said.
However, officials said they had received no reports of livestock or other land animals dying as a direct result of the derailment or chemical flaring.
Residents in nearby areas complained of headaches and nausea more than a week after the chemical burned, The Washington Post, The New Republic and local media reported.
Environmental experts told the BBC they were concerned about the government’s decision to allow people to return to East Palestine so soon after the accident and the controlled burning.
“Clearly, state and local regulators gave the green light to people to go home too quickly,” said David Masur, executive director of the Penn Environment Research & Policy Center.
“It’s created a lot of distrust and suspicion among the public about the credibility of these institutions, and that’s a problem,” he said.
In addition to vinyl chloride, several other substances on trains can form dangerous compounds when burned, such as dioxins, said Peter DeCarlo, a Johns Hopkins professor who studies air pollution.
“As an atmospheric chemist, that’s something I would very, very, very much want to avoid,” he added, adding that he wanted more detailed data on air quality released by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Residents of East Palestine have filed at least four class-action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern Railway, claiming they were exposed to toxic substances and suffered “serious mental distress” as a result of the derailment.
“A lot of our clients are really thinking about … maybe moving out of the area,” said Hunter Miller, who is on behalf of the company. He is representing East Palestine residents in a class action lawsuit against the railway company.
“This should be their safe haven and their happy place, their home,” Miller said. “Now they feel like their home has been infiltrated and are not so sure it’s a safe haven anymore.”
On Tuesday, a reporter asked Dewin if he would feel safe back home by himself if he lived in East Palestine.
“I’m going to be vigilant and concerned,” DeWine said. “But I think I might go back to my house.”