Another Norfolk Southern train derails in Ohio, no injuries or toxins reported

A large section of a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio Saturday, the second time in a month the rail company was involved in an accident — but unlike last month’s East Palestine disaster, no hazardous materials were released.

The train was traveling through Springfield when approximately 20 cars derailed, according to local officials. Springfield is 180 miles west of East Palestine, on the west side of the state.

No passengers were on board the 212-car train, and no one was injured in the crash, local officials and company leaders said.

People within 1,000 feet of the derailment were initially told to shelter in place “out of an abundance of caution,” but that order was lifted early Sunday morning.

“There is no indication of any injuries or risk to public health at this time,” Clark County’s emergency response team said in a statement.

First responders confirmed there were no toxic materials in the derailed train cars. Four crashed tankers were carrying common non-toxic industrial materials: two with diesel exhaust fluid and two with polyacrylamide water solution.

The crash came almost exactly one month after 38 cars on a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3 with toxic materials on board. Eventually, for fear of an explosion, officials conducted a “controlled release” of carcinogenic vinyl chloride and soon after told residents it was safe to return. They remain skeptical.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) noted that four Norfolk Southern trains have now derailed in Ohio in less than half a year.

“Sandusky, Steubenville, East Palestine, and now Springfield — four Norfolk Southern derailments in less than five months because this corporation has been more concerned with its profit margin than with Ohioans’ safety,” Brown told the Columbus Dispatch. “Ohio communities should not be forced to live in fear of another disaster.”

With News Wire Services