'Our Chernobyl': Ohio Residents After Toxic Chemical Train Derailment — Details In 10 Points

Two weeks after a train carrying harmful chemicals derailed in US' Ohio, the concerned residents continue to demand answers from officials as the case gains momentum.

New Delhi: The residents of East Palestine, Ohio, US are restless, anxious, worried and distraught over their future as they fear losing their lives, livelihood and everything they have lived for in this town. The reason is a train that was carrying hazardous chemicals and derailed causing a major fire that sent a cloud of smoke over the town raising alarm over a possible imminent explosion. 

Two weeks have passed since the derailment, but locals continue to demand concrete answers despite reassurances from officials, reported The Guardian. Up to 2,000 residents living in the immediate area were evacuated as chemicals being carried by train, run by Norfolk Southern Corporation, were released to prevent an explosion. 

Amid rising environmental concerns, residents refer to the incident as ‘our Chernobyl’ comparing it with the deadly April 1986 nuclear accident in then-Soviet Ukraine, reported BBC. 

According to reports, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said he was contacted after the disaster by US President Joe Biden. He said Biden offered any necessary federal assistance. "Look, the president called me and said, ‘Anything you need.’ I have not called him back after that conversation. We will not hesitate to do that if we’re seeing a problem or anything, but I’m not seeing it," DeWine reportedly said.

According to Fox News, DeWine's spokesperson Dan Tierney said that the Biden administration rejected a request for federal disaster assistance from Ohio Governor. He said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told Ohio's state government that it was not eligible for disaster assistance. 

As for the latest, according to a Reuters report, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan on Thursday sought to assure residents of East Palestine of the agency's commitment to air and water testing. 

Here’s What Happened In Ohio  

1. On the night of February 3, at least 50 out of 150 train cars of a train heading from Conway, Pennsylvania, to Madison, Illinois, derailed. The train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, a town of about 5,000 residents. It caused a huge fire spanning the length of the derailed cars. No injuries or deaths were reported. 

2. Residents within a one-mile radius of the derailment were evacuated as officials noted that over a dozen cars carrying vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic chemical, were involved in the derailment and could have been exposed to the fire. 

3. On 6th February, officials enacted a mandatory evacuation, threatening to arrest residents who refused to evacuate amid fear of an explosion. According to The Guardian, Governor Mike DeWine told residents that leaving was “a matter of life and death”.  

4. Crews ended up releasing toxic chemicals from five derailed tanker cars to prevent an explosion. Small holes were made into the train cars, whose chemicals were released into pits that were lit on fire. 

5. On February 8, evacuated residents were given the clear to return to their homes as officials deemed air and water samples safe for residents. 

6. The most concerning chemical being carried by the derailed train was vinyl chloride, which is used to make polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, a hard resin used in plastic products. Vinyl chloride is colourless and highly flammable. It has been linked to a rare form of liver cancer, as well as other types of cancer like leukemia and lung cancer. Short-term exposure effects include dizziness and drowsiness, while high exposure can lead to hospitalisation and death.  

7. Another chemical on board was butyl acrylate, also used in plastic production. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) later released information that showed three previously unreported chemicals were also released upon the derailment: ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether. In total, the EPA reported that five chemicals were contained in rail cars that were “derailed, breached and/or on fire”, in a letter the agency wrote to Norfolk Southern, quoted by The Guardian. 

8. The National Transportation Safety Board, the body which investigates major rail accidents, said a malfunction of an axle, a rod that connects two train wheels, caused the derailment. An investigation into the derailment is still underway. 

9. Meanwhile, the EPA has been actively monitoring environmental conditions in East Palestine and surrounding towns. Residents have signed up for voluntary home screenings by the agency. As of 13th February, the EPA did not detect vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride in 291 screened homes, with 181 homes waiting for screening. Officials have told residents that monitoring has shown the area’s drinking water to be safe. 

10. Despite reassurances from officials, residents in the vicinity of the derailment have reported multiple health symptoms, including nausea and a burning sensation in their eyes.