Newsman: A train derailment caused a huge fire to erupt in eastern Ohio on Friday night. Roughly 50 cars derailed around 9 p.m. in East Palestine.
Officials ordered many of the town’s residents to evacuate as crews assessed whether the cargo contained toxic material, the authorities said. The risk of injury remained a concern on Sunday because of the lingering threat of a potential explosion, officials said.
Ohio — Officials monitoring the smoldering, tangled wreckage of a train derailment in northeastern Ohio urgently warned hundreds of nearby residents who had declined to evacuate to do so Sunday night, saying a rail car was at risk of a potential explosion that could launch deadly shrapnel as far as a mile.
They warned of “the potential of a catastrophic tanker failure” after a “drastic temperature change” was observed in that rail car, according to a statement from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s office that said teams were working to prevent an explosion at the scene in East Palestine.
“There is a high probability of a toxic gas release and or explosion,” Columbiana County Sheriff Brian McLaughlin warned. “Please, for your own safety, remove your families from danger.”
A “drastic change” was detected Sunday in a chemical – vinyl chloride – that officials had been concerned about, Fire Chief Keith Drabick said. Five of the derailed cars were carrying the substance, said the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the disaster.
The threat escalated as a massive inferno burned for a third night Sunday from the Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials. Officials implored those still within a 1-mile radius of the crash site to evacuate immediately as concerns grew about air and water quality.
Breathing high levels of vinyl chloride can make someone die or pass out if they don’t get fresh air, the Ohio Department of Health said. The man-made chemical used to make PVC burns easily at room temperature; can cause dizziness, sleepiness and headaches; and has been linked to an increased risk of cancer in the liver, brain, lungs and blood.
Authorities urged anyone within a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) radius of the site to leave immediately. Many had, but local officials indicated more than 500 residents had declined to evacuate, the statement said.
Anyone who refuses to leave the evacuation zone could be arrested on a misdemeanor charge of misconduct in an emergency, the sheriff posted on Facebook. If there are children in a household that doesn’t evacuate, “further charges of endangering children will apply also,” McLaughlin said.
Federal investigators had announced earlier Sunday that a mechanical issue with a rail car axle caused the fiery derailment near the Pennsylvania state line Friday night.
Officials said Sunday afternoon that cars involved also carried combustible liquids, butyl acrylate and residue of benzene from previous shipments, as well as nonhazardous materials such as wheat, plastic pellets, malt liquors and lube oil.
The evacuation order covered homes of 1,500 to 2,000 of the town’s 4,800 to 4,900 residents, but officials said it was unknown exactly how many were actually affected. Most of those who had gone to an emergency shelter were no longer there by Sunday.
