Residents of a small town in the US state of Ohio are demanding answers from the authorities about the potential health and environmental harm caused by the train accident.
A train carrying toxic chemicals derailed on February 3 in East Palestine. The city has about five thousand inhabitants.
Among other things, the train carried vinyl chloride, which causes cancer, especially if inhaled, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Some of the train’s dozens of carriages caught fire. In addition, the authorities tried to prevent an explosion and burned the vinyl chloride released from the wagons. A huge cloud of black smoke rose into the sky.
Cleaning work in the area is still ongoing.
People suffer from symptoms
Local people have complained of suffering from headaches, burning eyes and sore throats. Misinformation related to the accident has been spread online.
A person who lives a few blocks away from the crash site James Figley told For the British Broadcasting Company BBC (you will switch to another service)that the situation is dramatic.
– The whole city is in chaos, Figley told the BBC.
Yesterday, Wednesday, hundreds of worried East Palestine residents gathered in the local school’s gymnasium to hear the authorities’ announcement regarding the accident.
Ohio state officials assured at the event that according to the tests, the city’s air is safe to breathe. The authorities promised to continue monitoring air and water quality.
Director of the Ohio Department of Health Bruce Vanderhoff has said previously, according to the Reuters news agency, that the chemicals released in Turma can cause headaches and eye and nose irritation in people even in amounts that are considered safe.
of the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency by Michael Regan is scheduled to arrive in East Palestine today, Thursday, to assess the authorities’ activities and hear the residents’ concerns.
A group of Democratic and Republican senators demand that a congressional investigation should be organized into the accident, says NBCNews (you’re moving to another service).
Residents want information
According to residents of East Palestine, there are unpleasant smells in the air of the area. They are also worried about, for example, what kind of risks pollution poses to people, pets and wild animals.
The people who gathered at the school for the news conference also demanded answers from the Norfolk Southern company that operated the train that crashed.
The train company announced that it did not participate in the event due to the security threat to its employees.
Attended the event Danielle Deal told the AP news agency that the authorities dodged questions.
“Norfolk should have been here,” Deal told the AP.
Deal said he lives a few kilometers away from the accident site. After the accident, he had gone with his two children to live with his mother twenty kilometers away.
Deal said the mushroom cloud from the chemical fire could be clearly seen all the way to his mother.
Was at the press conference Kathy Dyke wondered why the train company is silent. He said the locals didn’t find out what was on the train for three days.
Dyke said he has three grandchildren.
– Will they grow up here and get cancer five years from now? Things like that go through my mind, Dyke told the AP.
The pollution flows towards the Mississippi River
According to the Ohio Agency of Natural Resources, chemicals spilled from the train are affecting waterways more than 7 miles (11 km) from the crash site. According to the agency, about 3,500 fish are known to have died.
According to rumours, pets and livestock were also infected. However, according to state authorities, no animal deaths have been confirmed so far.
Pollution has also flowed into the Ohio River, which is a major tributary of the Mississippi River.
Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine said Tuesday that the pollution poses no serious risk to the five million people who get their drinking water from the Ohio River.
According to DeWine, the train company Norfolk Southern has promised to pay for cleaning up the damage.
According to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, pollutants in the Ohio River are slowly draining toward the Mississippi River.
A mechanical fault is suspected as the cause of the accident
There were about 150 freight cars in the train that crashed. About 50 of the carriages overturned and part of the train caught fire. A large cloud of smoke rose into the sky from the fire.
The authorities suspect that the accident was caused by a mechanical fault in the wagon’s axle.
No one was injured in the accident. But officials feared an explosion could occur at the crash site. The city’s residents were temporarily evacuated.
You can discuss the topic on Friday 17.2. until 11 p.m.
Sources: AP, Reuters