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After the Ohio Train Derailment: Evacuations, Toxic Chemicals and Water Worries

When a train derailed in the village of East Palestine on Feb. 3, it set off evacuation orders, a chemical scare and a federal investigation.

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A train carrying toxic chemicals that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February has raised concerns about air, soil and water pollution in the region.CreditCredit...Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

On Feb. 3, a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in eastern Ohio, igniting a fire that covered the town of East Palestine in smoke. Fearful of an explosion, the authorities carved out an evacuation zone and carried out a controlled release of toxic fumes to neutralize burning cargo inside some of the train cars.

Concerns mounted about the effect the derailment and the fire could have on residents’ health and the environment.

The episode “changed East Palestine forever,” Keith A. Drabick, the village’s fire chief, said in a National Transportation Safety Board investigative hearing on June 22.

Here’s what to know about what happened, and what comes next.

Around 9 p.m. on Feb. 3, a train derailed in East Palestine, a village of about 4,700 residents about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. There were 150 cars on the route from Madison, Ill., to Conway, Pa. The N.T.S.B. said that 38 cars derailed and a fire ensued, damaging another 12 cars.

The train, operated by Norfolk Southern, had been carrying chemicals and combustible materials, with vinyl chloride, a toxic flammable gas, being of most concern to investigators. Residents on both sides of the Ohio-Pennsylvania border were ordered to evacuate, as Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio raised alarms about a possible explosion.

On Feb. 6, the authorities released the toxic materials from five tankers, and the contents were diverted to a trench and burned off.

An initial report from the N.T.S.B. was released on Feb. 23. Although a wheel bearing had been heating up, the report said, an alarm did not sound to alert the crew to check a hot axle until just before the train derailed.

“This was 100 percent preventable,” Jennifer L. Homendy, the agency’s chairwoman, said.

ImageWorkers in hard hats and protective gear place inflatable booms across a stream.
Environmental workers placed booms in a stream near the site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.Credit...Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

The Environmental Protection Agency said that about 20 rail cars were reported to have been carrying hazardous materials. Vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ethers were released into the air, surface soil and surface waters, it said.

The E.P.A. said on Feb. 12 that it had not detected contaminants at “levels of concern” in and around East Palestine.

On Feb. 21, the E.P.A. ordered Norfolk Southern to identify and clean up contaminated soil and water; reimburse the E.P.A. for cleaning residences and businesses; attend public meetings and take other measures. If the company failed to complete the actions, the E.P.A. said it would “seek to compel Norfolk Southern to pay triple the cost” of the work.

States using water from the Ohio River took precautions.

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Norfolk Southern Railways set up an assistance center for people affected by the derailment.Credit...Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

The spill affected about seven and a half miles of stream, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and killed an estimated 3,500 fish as of Feb. 8.

On Feb. 14, Tiffani Kavalec, the surface water division chief for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said that testing had detected two chemical contaminants in some Ohio River tributaries and that treatment processes should filter out the contaminants.

Mr. DeWine, a Republican, said on Feb. 15 that tests conducted by the state E.P.A. showed no contaminants in the municipal water system.

The federal E.P.A. administrator, Michael S. Regan, who visited East Palestine on Feb. 16, said bottled water should be used until tests of private wells were completed.

Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, said on Feb. 16 that independent testing had not detected “concerning air or water quality readings.” On March 6, Mr. Shapiro said he had secured an initial commitment from Norfolk Southern to pay more than $7 million for damages to Pennsylvania and its residents.

On Feb. 15, hundreds of residents asked officials at a meeting how such a disaster could be avoided and whether their water was safe. Representatives from Norfolk Southern declined to attend. But on March 2, Darrell Wilson, a top government relations official for the rail operator, attended a town meeting, where residents shared frustrations and pleaded for help to evacuate.

The E.P.A. instructed Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins, toxic pollutants that could have formed after the chemical burn-off and which can cause cancer, interfere with hormones and cause damage to reproductive and immune systems.

Another Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio on March 4. That train was not carrying hazardous material, but the episode renewed concerns about rail safety and about Norfolk Southern’s performance. On March 6, the company announced that it had a new safety plan intended to detect overheated bearings more effectively.

Just after the derailment, 1,500 to 2,000 residents of East Palestine were told to evacuate. Schools and roads were closed.

On Feb. 6, Mr. DeWine extended the evacuation order to include anyone in a one-by-two-mile area surrounding East Palestine, including parts of Pennsylvania.

One of the evacuees, Ben Ratner, told CNN that he and members of his family had been extras in a 2022 movie adaptation of the 1985 Don DeLillo novel “White Noise.” In that story, a train derails and spills chemicals, causing an “airborne toxic event” that forces the evacuation of a small, Midwestern college town.

Some residents complained of headaches, coughs, rashes and other classic symptoms of chemical exposure.

More than a dozen class-action lawsuits seeking damages from Norfolk Southern have been filed, WFMJ reported.

The derailment and its impact upended an area where generations of families could afford to buy land. Many residents said raising livestock and working the soil were important to them.

Alan H. Shaw, Norfolk Southern’s chief executive, said during a visit on Feb. 18 that hazardous material was being cleaned up. Liquid waste was disposed in a well at a facility in Vickery, and solid waste was being shipped to an incinerator in East Liverpool, the E.P.A. said.

In March, Mr. Shaw told Congress that his company would create programs to provide long-term financial support to residents of East Palestine, and that it backed stricter standards for freight car safety.

The N.T.S.B. convened a two-day hearing on June 22 to hear from experts and witnesses. It released new documents that said a part of a rail car’s wheel set came off, leading to the derailment. The wheel bearing that overheated was found just over 100 feet from the point of the derailment with “extensive thermal damage.”

Materials released by the N.T.S.B. revealed that a Norfolk Southern employee in a monitoring center in Atlanta did not initially see an alert showing that the bearing was heating up. By the time the train reached the next detector, in East Palestine, the bearing’s temperature was 253 degrees above the ambient temperature.

Transcripts provided other new details. Chief Drabick, of the Fire Department, recalled being “blindsided” when Norfolk Southern and its contractors sought to vent the vinyl chloride, saying he was given 13 minutes to decide whether to give his approval, because there was a desire to undertake the procedure in daylight.

But Norfolk Southern officials were concerned about an explosion.

East Palestine officials emphasized during the hearing that the derailment overwhelmed emergency departments, dispatchers and emergency medical workers, many of whom are volunteers.

“I don’t think you can ever really be prepared for something like this,” Chief Drabick said at the hearing.

The investigation will take one year to 18 months from the date of the accident to complete, the N.T.S.B. said.

Emily Schmall and Maya King contributed reporting.

Christine Hauser is a reporter, covering national and foreign news. Her previous jobs in the newsroom include stints in Business covering financial markets and on the Metro desk in the police bureau. More about Christine Hauser

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 14 of the New York edition with the headline: Chemicals Threaten Air, Soil and Water Throughout Region. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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