Officials in northeast Ohio are urging people who have not yet evacuated the area to do so now after a train derailed in the state, raising fears of a possible explosion.
Residents were warned of “the possibility of catastrophic failure of the tanker” after a “drastic temperature change” was discovered in the wagon, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s office said in a statement, and He added that crews were working to prevent an explosion in the carriage. scene in the village of East Palestine.
Everyone within a 1-mile radius of the scene was advised to leave immediately. Many had already left the area, but local authorities said more than 500 residents had chosen to stay until Sunday night.
Federal investigators announced Sunday that a mechanical problem with a railcar axle caused the derailment Friday night near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
OHIO TRAIN DESCREASE CAUSES MASSIVE FIRES FORCING VILLAGE EVACUATION
This drone photo shows parts of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio.
National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham told a news conference that the crew of the three-member train received an alert about the mechanical problem shortly before the derailment and that the board was still working to determine what wagon was not working well.
Some 50 railcars derailed in eastern Palestine as a train was carrying cargo from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, according to rail operator Norfolk Southern. No injuries were reported.
Graham said investigators located the exact “derailment point.” He said the information will be included in a preliminary investigative report to be published in the next month or so.
Local officials said emergency services were monitoring the situation but keeping their distance from the fire, and that remediation efforts could not begin as the train carriages smoldered.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said one person was arrested for going around the barricades and approaching the train. He warned of additional arrests if people didn’t move away from the site.
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A train fire is seen from a farm in East Palestine, Ohio.
“I don’t know why anyone would want to be up there, you’re breathing toxic gases if you’re that close,” he said, stressing that air quality monitors away from the fire showed no levels of concern and that the city’s water is safe. because it uses groundwater that was not affected by any material that went into the streams.
Environmental protection agency crews were working to remove contaminants from streams and monitor water quality.
Sheriffs knocked on doors in the area Sunday to count remaining residents and encourage people within the evacuation area to leave. Schools and village offices will be closed until at least Monday. Businesses within the evacuation area are not allowed to open on Monday.
The Norfolk Southern transportation company said 20 of the train’s more than 100 cars were classified as carrying hazardous materials. The company said only 10 cars carrying hazardous materials derailed, and five of those were carrying vinyl chloride. Authorities said late Saturday that they had not confirmed that vinyl chloride was released outside of pressure relief devices that function as designed.
Vinyl chloride, used to make the hard plastic resin polyvinyl chloride in a number of plastic products, is associated with an increased risk of some types of cancer, according to the federal government’s National Cancer Institute.
A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order in the village of Ohio, near the Pennsylvania state line, on Friday night.
“Short-term exposure to low levels of substances associated with the derailment does not present a long-term health risk to residents,” according to a post on the village’s Facebook page. “Vinyl chloride and benzene can cause cancer in people exposed in the workplace at high concentrations over many years; however, there is no indication that any potential exposure that occurred after the derailment increases the risk of cancer or any another long-term effect on people’s health. Community members.”
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Authorities said Sunday afternoon that the cars involved in the derailment were also carrying combustible liquids, butyl acrylate and benzene residues from previous shipments. They also said non-hazardous materials such as wheat, plastic pellets, malt liquor and lubricating oil were being transported.
The evacuation order included 1,500 to 2,000 of the city’s 4,800 to 4,900 residents, though officials admitted it was unclear exactly how many were actually affected. Most of the residents who had gone to an emergency shelter left on Sunday.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
