Ohio train derailment – live: Video emerges of apparent contaminated creek in East Palestine
Video has emerged of an apparently heavily-contaminated creek in East Palestine, Ohio, two weeks after a freight train laden with toxic materials derailed and leaked into the community.
The clip, posted by tech blogger Nick Sortor on Thursday, is tagged in East Palestine. In the minute-long clip, a woman throws a heavy stone into the creek and when the ripples settle, large oily spots appear on the surface.
“It’s all in the bottom of the creekbed,” the woman says. The video has been viewed millions of times.
It is not clear what relation the creek has to the town’s drinking water supply. The US Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday: “In East Palestine, residents get their water from a few different sources – which are all actively being tested by the state and local governments, with EPA’s support.”
On 3rd February, around 50 rail cars of a Norfolk Southern train, some carrying hazardous materials, careened off the tracks in the small town. Clean-up crews subsequently carried out a controlled burn on flammable substances sending noxious clouds billowing across the area.
Key points
Lawsuit alleges Norfolk's clean up efforts 'made it worse'
Angry Ohio residents seek answers on train's toxic spill
Animals drop dead as ecological disaster unfolds
Watch: Devastating aftermath of Ohio train derailment revealed in shocking drone footage
Ohio train derailment fallout map
'Disgusting' rainbow-coloured slicks found near Ohio train derailment
04:30 , Vishwam Sankaran
Videos posted by several Twitter users, including by Republican senator JD Vance, revealed multi-coloured chemical slicks on the surface of small streams near the Ohio train derailment area in East Palestine.
“This is disgusting,” Mr Vance said in a video posted on Twitter.
Visited a local creek in East Palestine today. These waterways are still very polluted. It’s time for Norfolk Southern to finish the cleanup. Check this video out: pic.twitter.com/4lsHBmrMJj
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) February 16, 2023
The videos seemed to depict contamination of water bodies by vinyl chloride, according to John Senko, a professor of geosciences and biology at the University of Akron, USA Today reported.
“It looks like what’s happening is you got some of that stuff on the bottom of the creek, you stir it up a little bit, it starts to come up and then it’s just going to sink again. So that stuff’s behaving like I would expect vinyl chloride to behave,” Dr Senko said.
Anxious residents continue to seek answers
04:00 , Louise Boyle
A train horn sounds long and loud, shattering the quiet of East Palestine.
“It’s almost insulting,” says Vincent Greene, one of five lawyers visiting to offer advice to worried residents facing an emerging environmental and health catastrophe.
Only days have passed since a huge train derailment and subsequent venting of hazardous gas into the air, yet trains have restarted, once more carrying hazardous cargo through the middle of the small Ohio town.
For local people, a similar return to normality feels out of reach.
Much remains unknown about the dangers posed by the spilled chemicals, but many residents have complained of headaches and irritated eyes, and noted that chickens, fish and other wildlife have died off. Yet health officials insist this is a safe place to be.
Josh Marcus and Graig Graziosi report.
Inside the small town still seeking for answers after toxic train crash
Watch: Train carrying hazardous materials derails in Detroit
03:01 , Louise Boyle
Erin Brockovich announces visit to East Palestine
02:00 , Louise Boyle
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich announced on Friday that she would be making a visit to the town of East Palestine following the rail disaster.
Ms Brockovich, a former law clerk, successfully spearheaded a lawsuit against a major company on behalf of hundreds of people who had unknowingly been exposed to toxic waste in California.
Her story was made into a movie starring Julia Roberts.
Ms Brockovich announced to her nearly 238,000 Twitter followers that she was would be in the small Ohio town next Thursday for a town hall.
Pictured: The clean-up continues two weeks after rail disaster
01:00 , Louise Boyle
Workers fence off damaged railroad tank cars as cleanup continues on Friday in the aftermath of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment.
What is the EPA doing in East Palestine?
00:00 , Louise Boyle
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a list of its activities in the aftermath of the Ohio rail disaster.
Among its tasks, the agency reports that it is monitoring air quality for a wide range of compounds, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), phosgene and hydrogen chloride.
It is also screening the indoor air monitoring of 500 homes under a voluntary screening program offered to residents.
“No detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride were identified above levels of concern,” the agency said. However it is continuing to offer screening to residents within the evacuation zone.
‘I’m exhausted’
23:00 , Louise Boyle
Residents affected by the train derailment are still waiting for satisfactory answers. Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine.
Uncertainty weighs heavy on East Palestine after train derailment
Locals wait for financial aid in East Palestine
22:00 , Louise Boyle
Neil Figley, 28, holds his daughter, Harlie, 4, as they wait in line at the Norfolk Southern Assistance Center to collect a $1000 check and get reimbursed for expenses while they were evacuated from East Palestine, Ohio on February 17, 2023
Biden administration sends additional resources to East Palestine
21:30 , Louise Boyle
The Biden administration announced on Friday that it was sending additional federal resources to support East Palestine, Ohio following the train derailment disaster.
Segments of a Norfolk Southern freight train careened off the track on 3rd February, leaking toxic chemicals into the ground, water and air.
Now, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is deploying a team of medical personnel and toxicologists to conduct public health testing and assessments, in order to support the state and local officials already on the ground.
The team will evaluate individuals who were exposed or potentially exposed to chemicals and help ensure timely communications to the public, a White House statement read. “As President Biden told Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro soon after the derailment, the Federal Government stands ready to provide any additional federal assistance the states may need,” it read.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to supporting the people of East Palestine every step of the way, and holding Norfolk Southern accountable.”
Video posted online of apparently heavily-contaminated creek in East Palestine
21:12 , Louise Boyle
Video has emerged of an apparently heavily-contaminated creek in East Palestine, Ohio, two weeks after a freight train laden with toxic materials derailed and leaked into the community.
The clip, posted by tech blogger Nick Sortor on Thursday, is tagged in East Palestine. In the minute-long clip, a woman throws a heavy stone into the creek and when the ripples settle, large oily spots appear on the surface.
Even MORE proof that the EPA is LYING to the people of East Palestine.
THIS WATER IS INSANELY CONTAMINATED. pic.twitter.com/rNlNxxBTDd— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 16, 2023
“It’s all in the bottom of the creekbed,” the woman says. The video has been viewed millions of times.
It is not clear what relation the creek has to the town’s drinking water supply. The US Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday: “In East Palestine, residents get their water from a few different sources – which are all actively being tested by the state and local governments, with EPA’s support.”
Findings on deadly truck accident after hazardous materials spill
19:42 , Louise Boyle
The deadly truck accident this week that caused a hazardous materials spill southeast of downtown Tucson this week did not appear to be caused by high speed, drugs or alcohol, Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said Thursday.
The authorities said at a news conference that truck driver Ricky Immel, 54, was traveling from his home state of Nevada to Alabama with a load of packages of liquid nitric acid Tuesday afternoon when his vehicle left the roadway and flipped onto the left side, then into the median. Immel was later declared dead at the scene.
The cause of the accident and Immel’s death are under investigation.
Immel was traveling with his service dog, which will be reunited with his wife, said officials, who did not say what type of assistance the animal was trained for.
The main freeway in southern Arizona reopened in both directions Wednesday evening, and officials said people living in the area could safely return to their homes or go outside a day after the crash sent acrid red and yellow plumes into the desert sky and evacuation and shelter-in-place orders were issued.Associated Press
Monitoring continues in East Palestine
19:15 , Louise Boyle
An air quality monitor hangs on a stop sign near the site of a train derailment prompting health concerns on February 17, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio.
Fact-check on misinformation surrounding Ohio train derailment
18:50 , Louise Boyle
The Associated Press fact-checked two of the most prevalent but untrue stories and images circulating online about the East Palestine train derailment.
These included an Ohio River map which distorted the contamination area, and a video of a cloud from Oregon misrepresented as the aftermath of the train crash.
Read more at the AP link here.
Watch: Drone captures footage of devastating aftermath of Ohio train derailment
18:35 , Louise Boyle
Trump silent on Ohio toxic train derailment after lawmakers descend into blame game
18:15 , Louise Boyle
Trump silent on Ohio toxic train derailment after lawmakers descend into blame game
How many US train derailments have there been in 2023?
17:50 , Louise Boyle
The East Palestine train derailment has raised questions over the safety of the US rail network - particularly when it comes to large freight carriers hauling hazardous materials.
How many train derailments have there been so far in 2023?
The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad has the answers.
How many train derailments have there been in the US in 2023?
Chair of National Transportation Safety Board pleads with people to stop spreading misinformation
17:31 , Louise Boyle
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has pleaded with people to stop spreading misinformation about the East Palestine train derailment.
In a lengthy Twitter thread posted on Thursday, she wrote: “Anyone speculating about what happened, didn’t happen, or should’ve happened is misleading a suffering community – PLEASE STOP SPREADING MISINFORMATION.”
You can read her remarks in full below.
THREAD on East Palestine derailment:
First, a message to the community…then a plea to those spreading misinformation.— Jennifer Homendy (@JenniferHomendy) February 17, 2023
‘We continue to test and monitor’ says Ohio governor during press conference on East Palestine
16:50 , Louise Boyle
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine held a press conference on Friday morning to reassure those living near the East Palestine train derailment, saying that testing and monitoring would continue.
He also suggested that a presidential committee or congressional hearings may be appropriate to “shine a spotlight on our railroads”.
Watch the press conference in full below.
Criminal charges dropped against reporter
16:17 , Louise Boyle
Criminal charges against a NewsNation reporter who was arrested while covering the toxic train derailment in East Palestine have been dropped, the Ohio Attorney General announced this week.
Evan Lambert was charged with criminal trespass and resisting arrest while trying to record a live broadcast during a press conference of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on 8 February.
Bodycam footage showed two highway patrol officers confront Mr Lambert for being too loud, and then push him to the ground.
Read more from Bevan Hurley’s report below.
Charges dismissed for reporter arrested while covering train derailment
The DC blame game begins over Ohio train derailment. Whose fault is it?
15:50 , Louise Boyle
“The only way I can describe it is like the doors of hell were open.”
That’s how Mahoning County Hazmat chief Steve Szekely described the acrid cloud of black smoke in the aftermath of the 3 February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, where around 50 cars, some of them carrying toxic chemicals, went sliding off the tracks.
That disaster has caused residents and local wildlife to suffer a variety of symptoms, and led to chaos in Washington DC, as officials have sought to pin the tragedy on one party or policy.
Read more of Josh Marcus’s report for The Independent below.
The DC blame game begins over Ohio train derailment. Whose fault is it?
No hazardous materials spill in Michigan train derailment
15:24 , Louise Boyle
A train hauling hazardous materials derailed Thursday near Detroit, but none spilled, officials said.
The Norfolk Southern train derailed nearly two weeks after a Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio left a mangled and charred mass of boxcars that had been carrying various hazardous chemicals.
Video recorded of the Thursday derailment in Van Buren Township, Michigan, showed that more than a half-dozen cars derailed, some of them left sideways across the tracks.
The derailment just before 9am. west of Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport left the tracks damaged and wheels disconnected from some rail cars.
Police said there were no reported injuries and no evidence that hazardous materials were exposed in the derailment.
Authorities urged drivers and residents to avoid the area while they investigated. Several roads were temporarily closed by the derailment.
The Associated Press
Fear and scepticism abound in East Palestine
15:05 , Louise Boyle
Residents affected by the train derailment are still waiting for satisfactory answers. The Independent’s Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine.
Many are sceptical about the rail company Norfolk Southern’s intentions, sceptical about what they’re being told by the Environmental Protection Agency, and sceptical of the state’s response.
Read the full story below.
Uncertainty weighs heavy on East Palestine after train derailment
‘Trust the government,’ says EPA boss
14:40 , Louise Boyle
The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency got a first-hand look on Thursday at the toll left by a freight train derailment in Ohio, where toxic chemicals spilled or were burned off, leaving the stench of fresh paint nearly two weeks later.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who walked along a creek that still reeks of chemicals, sought to reassure skeptical residents that the water is fit for drinking and the air safe to breathe around East Palestine, where just under 5,000 people live near the Pennsylvania state line.
“I’m asking they trust the government. I know that’s hard. We know there’s a lack of trust,” Regan said. “We’re testing for everything that was on that train.”
Associated Press
East Palestine residents reveal mental toll of living in the shadow of catastrophic train accident
14:00 , Rachel Sharp
The rattling of windows was a common occurrence in Eric Cozza’s East Palestine home. Anytime the Norfolk Southern trains came rumbling down the tracks less than half a mile from his home, the glass wobbled.
On the night of the Ohio train derailment, he felt far more than a rattle.
“I felt the foundations shaking,” he said, standing on his front porch nearly two weeks after a train carrying vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals derailed within walking distance of his home.
He was immediately forced to evacuate, but finding lodging for himself, his two large dogs, and the rest of his family — a total of seven — was no easy task. After being turned away from a hotel charging $200 a night, he managed to find cheaper accommodations in nearby Lisbon thanks to a friend who worked on the staff.
Once it was clear the train cars carrying highly flammable vinyl chloride weren’t going to explode and consume his home in a toxic fireball, he and his family returned.
Since then he — and the rest of the village — have been left with few satisfying answers.
The Independent’s Graig Graziosi reports from on the ground in East Palestine:
Uncertainty weighs heavy on East Palestine after train derailment
At least 18 Norfolk Southern employees have died on job since 1991
13:30 , Rachel Sharp
At least 18 Norfolk Southern employees have died on the job since 1991, according to figures from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Railroad Workers Union.
The latest fatality was in December 2022 when trainee conductor Walter James Griffin III was killed and another conductor was seriously injured after being struck by a piece of metal from a passing train car in Bessemer, Alabama. The death is still under investigation.
In 2005, nine people including one Norfolk Southern engineer died and 250 people were injured from toxic chlorine exposure after two Norfolk Southern freight trains collided near Graniteville, South Carolina.
The fatalities were a result of chlorine searing the victims’ lungs. An NTSB accident report blamed the crash on the failure of one train crew to return a main line switch to the normal position after completing work on the track.
Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections
13:00 , Bevan Hurley
A couple and their three-year-old child are suffering from upper respiratory infections in the wake of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Local residents, Chris and Jamie Wallace, and their toddler, went to hospital with breathing issues which they said developed after the train crash.
“I knew something was different when we left town and there was that chemical smell in your nose, as if you were in the bathroom cleaning with bleach and you walk out and you still smell that bleach in your nose,” Jamie Wallace told NewsNation.
Louise Boyle has the story.
Ohio toxic train derailment: Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections
Norfolk Southern had history of safety failures before Ohio derailment
12:30 , Rachel Sharp
The rail company behind the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, had a history of safety failures long before the 3 February disaster, The Independent can reveal.
Norfolk Southern has a checkered past of deadly accidents and silencing whistleblowers, and was lambasted for safety failures last year after it authorised $10bn stock buybacks for shareholders rather than maintenance.
It has also emerged that the freight train – which derailed in East Palestine while carrying toxic chemicals – had broken down just two days earlier.
The accident, according to rail unions, was “years in the making” and locals now fearful of the health implications are demanding answers.
The Independent’s Bevan Hurley and Louise Boyle have more:
The controversial company behind Ohio’s toxic train disaster
All we know about affected areas and a cancer-causing chemical
12:00 , Bevan Hurley
A dark pillar of smoke rose above East Palestine, Ohio, in early February, prompting a mandatory evacuation of the village’s residents. A Norfolk Southern train carrying numerous hazardous chemicals had suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure, resulting in a derailment. Officials feared the flammable chemicals might ignite in a massive blast of shrapnel and poison, and elected to vent and burn the contents of the traincars to mitigate the potential for further destruction.
More than a week after the Ohio train derailment, information is still trickling out about what exactly happened and what risk the 5,000 residents of East Palestine — and the millions in the surrounding region — may face as a result of the crash.
Here’s everything we know about the train derailment, its causes, and what effect it has — and may have — on the people and the environment.
Train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio: Everything we know
What chemicals were spilled and how toxic are they?
11:00 , Bevan Hurley
Some of the rail tankers that derailed in East Palestine on 3 February contained vinyl chloride.
Crews carried out a controlled burn of the substance to prevent a blast but still sent noxious black clouds billowing across the region.
The fire released phosgene, a gas deployed as a chemical weapon in the First World War, which causes eye irritation, dry burning throat and vomiting.
Vinyl chloride, which is used to make plastic pipes, wires and packaging, is linked to increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, hepatic angiosarcoma, along with primary liver cancer, brain and lung cancers, lymphoma and leukaemia, according to Cancer.gov.
Hydrogen chloride is released by burning vinyl chloride and also an irritant to the skin, nose, eyes and throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad has the story.
What chemicals were spilled in the Ohio train derailment and how toxic are they?
Their town is shrouded in toxic chemicals — but the people of East Palestine still can’t get answers
10:00 , Bevan Hurley
Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine as residents gather at a town meeting - only to leave with more questions than answers on their fears of catastrophic chemicals.
Ohio left with more questions after East Palestine train derailment meeting
East Palestine residents launch wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern
09:00 , Bevan Hurley
Residents of the Ohio town of East Palestine filed a class action lawsuitagainst railway company Norfolk Southern on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of litigation the public company is facing over the disastrous 3 February derailment.
The latest lawsuit alleges that efforts by the company and local and state authorities to clean up after the crash actually worsened the situation, and demands punitive damages and medical monitoring.
The case filed by law firm Morgan & Morgan demands punitive damages and medical monitoring, alleging authorities “purportedly blew holes in the cars containing vinyl chloride, dumping 1.1 million pounds (500,000kgs) of vinyl chloride” into the area.
Full story below.
East Palestine residents file wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern
Ohio train derailment ‘predicted’ by 2022 Netflix movie
08:00 , Bevan Hurley
Netflix viewers have drawn uncanny parallels between a recent film and the chemical spill that took place in Ohio earlier this month.
White Noise, starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, was released on the Netflix late last year.
Adapted from the acclaimed 1985 novel by American writer Don DeLillo, the film follows a death-obsessed academic (Driver), and his family.
One of the biggest plot points in both the book and film concerns a train crash which release a huge cloud of toxic chemicals into the air, referred to somewhat euphemistically as the Airbourne Toxic Event.
Louis Chilton has the story.
Netflix movie White Noise ‘predicted’ train derailment in Ohio
Their town is shrouded in toxic chemicals — but the people of East Palestine still can’t get answers
07:00 , Bevan Hurley
Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine as residents gather at a town meeting - only to leave with more questions than answers on their fears of catastrophic chemicals.
Ohio left with more questions after East Palestine train derailment meeting
Dead animals and reports of sickness as ecological disaster unfolds after Ohio toxic train derailment
06:00 , Bevan Hurley
The ecological fallout from the derailment of a freight traincarrying toxic materials in rural Ohio is still being determined days after the disaster.
Around 50 train cars derailed on 3rd February in the small town of East Palestine including 20 cars carrying hazardous substances.
No one was killed after a broken axle sent the Norfolk Southern train careening off the tracks, investigators said. More than 2,000 residents were evacuated due to health concerns over the chemical leak but have since been allowed to return.
Some of the crashed cars were carrying toxic chemicals - vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether - which were released into the air, surface soils, and surface waters.
The Independent’s Senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle reports.
Dead animals and reports of sickness after Ohio train derailment in East Palestine
All we know about affected areas and a cancer-causing chemical
05:00 , Bevan Hurley
A dark pillar of smoke rose above East Palestine, Ohio, in early February, prompting a mandatory evacuation of the village’s residents. A Norfolk Southern train carrying numerous hazardous chemicals had suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure, resulting in a derailment. Officials feared the flammable chemicals might ignite in a massive blast of shrapnel and poison, and elected to vent and burn the contents of the traincars to mitigate the potential for further destruction.
More than a week after the Ohio train derailment, information is still trickling out about what exactly happened and what risk the 5,000 residents of East Palestine — and the millions in the surrounding region — may face as a result of the crash.
Here’s everything we know about the train derailment, its causes, and what effect it has — and may have — on the people and the environment.
Train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio: Everything we know
Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections
04:00 , Bevan Hurley
A couple and their three-year-old child are suffering from upper respiratory infections in the wake of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Local residents, Chris and Jamie Wallace, and their toddler, went to hospital with breathing issues which they said developed after the train crash.
“I knew something was different when we left town and there was that chemical smell in your nose, as if you were in the bathroom cleaning with bleach and you walk out and you still smell that bleach in your nose,” Jamie Wallace told NewsNation.
Louise Boyle has the story.
Ohio toxic train derailment: Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections
Where did the train carrying toxic chemicals crash in Ohio?
03:00 , Bevan Hurley
East Palestine is situated in Columbiana County, right on the edge of Ohio’s border with Pennsylvania.
EPA Administrator visits East Palestine crash site
02:00 , Bevan Hurley
Michael Regan, the EPA Administrator, travelled to East Palestine on Thursday where he visited the site of the catastrophic Norfolk Southern derailment.
Mr Regan tweeted that the “terrible incident that has rightfully shaken this community to its core”.
“But I want residents to know: @EPA will be here as long as it takes the ensure the health and safety of this community.”
Today I visited the site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio — a terrible incident that has rightfully shaken this community to its core.
But I want residents to know: @EPA will be here as long as it takes the ensure the health and safety of this community. pic.twitter.com/xNSGduandy— Michael Regan, U.S. EPA (@EPAMichaelRegan) February 16, 2023
Their town is shrouded in toxic chemicals — but the people of East Palestine still can’t get answers
01:00 , Bevan Hurley
Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine as residents gather at a town meeting - only to leave with more questions than answers on their fears of catastrophic chemicals
Ohio left with more questions after East Palestine train derailment meeting
East Palestine residents launch wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern
00:00 , Bevan Hurley
Residents of the Ohio town of East Palestine filed a class action lawsuitagainst railway company Norfolk Southern on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of litigation the public company is facing over the disastrous 3 February derailment.
The latest lawsuit alleges that efforts by the company and local and state authorities to clean up after the crash actually worsened the situation, and demands punitive damages and medical monitoring.
The case filed by law firm Morgan & Morgan demands punitive damages and medical monitoring, alleging authorities “purportedly blew holes in the cars containing vinyl chloride, dumping 1.1 million pounds (500,000kgs) of vinyl chloride” into the area.
Full story below.
East Palestine residents file wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown visits East Palestine derailment site
Thursday 16 February 2023 23:20 , Bevan Hurley
Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown visited the derailment site in East Palestine on Thursday.
“Spent the day in East Palestine talking with residents, local firefighters, and @EPA and @OhioEPA officials,” he posted on Twitter.
“I’m 100% committed to getting this community the answers and the help they need.”
Earlier, Mr Brown called on Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to declare a state of emergency.
Spent the day in East Palestine talking with residents, local firefighters, and @EPA and @OhioEPA officials.
I'm 100% committed to getting this community the answers and the help they need. pic.twitter.com/f7HZBF26HD— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) February 16, 2023
Ohio train derailment ‘predicted’ by 2022 Netflix movie
Thursday 16 February 2023 22:50 , Bevan Hurley
Netflix viewers have drawn uncanny parallels between a recent film and the chemical spill that took place in Ohio earlier this month.
White Noise, starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, was released on the Netflix late last year.
Adapted from the acclaimed 1985 novel by American writer Don DeLillo, the film follows a death-obsessed academic (Driver), and his family.
One of the biggest plot points in both the book and film concerns a train crash which release a huge cloud of toxic chemicals into the air, referred to somewhat euphemistically as the Airbourne Toxic Event.
Louis Chilton has the story.
Netflix movie White Noise ‘predicted’ train derailment in Ohio
Dead animals and reports of sickness as ecological disaster unfolds after Ohio toxic train derailment
Thursday 16 February 2023 22:20 , Bevan Hurley
The ecological fallout from the derailment of a freight traincarrying toxic materials in rural Ohio is still being determined days after the disaster.
Around 50 train cars derailed on 3rd February in the small town of East Palestine including 20 cars carrying hazardous substances.
No one was killed after a broken axle sent the Norfolk Southern train careening off the tracks, investigators said. More than 2,000 residents were evacuated due to health concerns over the chemical leak but have since been allowed to return.
Some of the crashed cars were carrying toxic chemicals - vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether - which were released into the air, surface soils, and surface waters.
The Independent’s Senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle reports.
Dead animals and reports of sickness after Ohio train derailment in East Palestine
What chemicals were spilled and how toxic are they?
Thursday 16 February 2023 21:50 , Bevan Hurley
Some of the rail tankers that derailed in East Palestine on 3 February contained vinyl chloride.
Crews carried out a controlled burn of the substance to prevent a blast but still sent noxious black clouds billowing across the region.
The fire released phosgene, a gas deployed as a chemical weapon in the First World War, which causes eye irritation, dry burning throat and vomiting.
Vinyl chloride, which is used to make plastic pipes, wires and packaging, is linked to increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, hepatic angiosarcoma, along with primary liver cancer, brain and lung cancers, lymphoma and leukaemia, according to Cancer.gov.
Hydrogen chloride is released by burning vinyl chloride and also an irritant to the skin, nose, eyes and throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad has the story.
What chemicals were spilled in the Ohio train derailment and how toxic are they?
EPA Administrator visits East Palestine crash site
Thursday 16 February 2023 21:33 , Bevan Hurley
Michael Regan, the EPA Administrator, travelled to East Palestine on Thursday where he visited the site of the catastrophic Norfolk Southern derailment.
Mr Regan tweeted that the “terrible incident that has rightfully shaken this community to its core”.
“But I want residents to know: @EPA will be here as long as it takes the ensure the health and safety of this community.”
Today I visited the site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio — a terrible incident that has rightfully shaken this community to its core.
But I want residents to know: @EPA will be here as long as it takes the ensure the health and safety of this community. pic.twitter.com/xNSGduandy— Michael Regan, U.S. EPA (@EPAMichaelRegan) February 16, 2023
East Palestine residents launch wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern
Thursday 16 February 2023 21:20 , Bevan Hurley
Residents of the Ohio town of East Palestine filed a class action lawsuitagainst railway company Norfolk Southern on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of litigation the public company is facing over the disastrous 3 February derailment.
The latest lawsuit alleges that efforts by the company and local and state authorities to clean up after the crash actually worsened the situation, and demands punitive damages and medical monitoring.
The case filed by law firm Morgan & Morgan demands punitive damages and medical monitoring, alleging authorities “purportedly blew holes in the cars containing vinyl chloride, dumping 1.1 million pounds (500,000kgs) of vinyl chloride” into the area.
“I’m not sure Norfolk Southern could have come up with a worse plan to address this disaster,” attorney John Morgan said in a statement.
Full story below.
East Palestine residents file wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern
West Virginia drinking water cleared by health officials
Thursday 16 February 2023 20:50 , Bevan Hurley
West Virginia officials have reiterated that the state’s drinking water remains safe following an Ohio train derailment that led to a toxic plume of chemicals being released.
Chemicals that leaked from the derailment are being monitored as they move down the Ohio River, but they are not affecting the supply of drinking water, officials said during a briefing Thursday.
“We have not had any reports of this substance entering the water supply in any of the affected areas and there are no water advisories being issued at this time,” said state Health Officer Matt Christensen.
West Virginia drinking water still clear of derailment toxin
Another train carrying hazardous materials derails
Thursday 16 February 2023 20:20 , Bevan Hurley
A freight train carrying toxic materials derailed in Van Buren Township near Detroit, Michigan, on Thursday.
Officials told WXYZ that six cars came off the tracks just before 9am. One of the cars is believed to contain hazardous substances, but there were no signs that it was leaking or that there was any danger to the public.
Police said in a statement that no one was injured in the crash and advised residents to avoid the area: “There is no evidence of exposed hazardous materials, as no train cars containing hazardous materials were compromised.”
The derailment came two weeks after a Norfolk Southern train crashed on the outskirts of East Palestine, Ohio, on 3 February, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate and causing an environmental catastrophe.
Michigan train derailment probed after disastrous chemical leak in Ohio
‘Would you feel comfortable having your kids there?'
Thursday 16 February 2023 19:51 , Bevan Hurley
EPA administrator Michael Regan is being grilled about air quality in East Palestine.
A reporter asks him if he would feel comfortable returning with his children to the evacuation site.
He reiterates that the air and water quality testing is safe for residents to return.
He said that those with the means to do so may choose to stay away, but for residents with no other options, that it was safe to return.
“I am asking that they trust the government,” Mr Regan says. He acknowledges that trust in the government may be low, and that’s why they are trying to act with transparency.
EPA administrator Michael Regan addresses residents’ concerns about water and air quality
Thursday 16 February 2023 19:42 , Bevan Hurley
Michael Regan is speaking at a press briefing in East Palestine. He said that officials were testing well water, surface water, and air quality.
He said the EPA was using airplanes and stationary devices to test the air at different altitudes, and they had personally tested more than 500 houses.
Every chemical present on the derailed Norfolk Southern train was being tested for, he added.
“We feel comfortable that we’re casting a net wide enough that will present a picture that will protect the community,” Mr Regan said.
EPA officials: ‘We are not going anywhere’
Thursday 16 February 2023 19:37 , Bevan Hurley
Officials from the Ohio EPA are stressing that they will remain in East Palestine for the long haul.
Anne M. Vogel, the director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said that they heard residents’ concerns at an emotional town meeting on Wednesday night.
She said that testing continues to show that there is no danger to water and air in the township.
Ms Vogel said the EPA was still in the emergency phase of the response, and that they would remain their for some time.
“We are not going anywhere.”
Ohio Senator tells Norfolk Southern not to force residents to give up their legal rights
Thursday 16 February 2023 19:30 , Bevan Hurley
Sherrod Brown says he is watching Norfolk Southern very closely.
He said he has asked the rail company not to try to force people to give up their legal rights by accepting payment of $1,000 or $2,000.
“There is no justification for that,” he said.
Federal officials are holding a press briefing in East Palestine
Thursday 16 February 2023 19:27 , Bevan Hurley
Senator Sherrod Brown and the Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan are in East Palestine this afternoon to meet with and reassure residents.
Here’s a link to their live briefing which is happening now.
Join us live in East Palestine, Ohio where I’ll provide an update on EPA’s work supporting local and state response efforts and our partnership to protect the health and safety of this community.
Tune in now ⬇️https://t.co/dA3YMBrPQU— Michael Regan, U.S. EPA (@EPAMichaelRegan) February 16, 2023
White House defends Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Thursday 16 February 2023 19:24 , Bevan Hurley
There was palpable anger at federal officials during a town meeting in East Palestine on Wednesday night, with many residents asking: “Where’s Pete Buttigieg?”
Amid fierce criticism of the Transport Secretary in recent days, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden maintained “absolute confidence” in him during a press briefing on Thursday.
Mr Buttigieg told Yahoo Finance on Thursday that more needed to be done to address rail safety.
Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections after East Palestine train derailment
Thursday 16 February 2023 18:50 , Bevan Hurley
A couple and their three-year-old child are suffering from upper respiratory infections in the wake of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Local residents, Chris and Jamie Wallace, and their toddler, went to hospital with breathing issues which they said developed after the train crash.
“I knew something was different when we left town and there was that chemical smell in your nose, as if you were in the bathroom cleaning with bleach and you walk out and you still smell that bleach in your nose,” Jamie Wallace told NewsNation on Tuesday.
Read Senior Clime Corrrespondent Louise Boyle’s story.
Ohio toxic train derailment: Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections
Train in Ohio derailment ‘broke down’ days before catastrophic chemical leak
Thursday 16 February 2023 18:30 , Bevan Hurley
A Norfolk Southern train which was carrying toxic chemicals and suffered a catastrophic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, broke down at least once before, employees familiar with the matter said.
The train, originating from Madison, Illinois, broke down just two days before derailing on 1 February, likely because of its excessive weight and size, the unnamed employees told CBC.
The employees who were working the train were concerned as its length was 151 cars long, stretching 9,300ft and weighing 18,000 tonnes.
Shweta Sharma has the full story.
Train in Ohio derailment ‘broke down’ days before catastrophic chemical leak
Thirteen days after the Ohio train derailment, a chaotic East Palestine meeting fuels fury and fear
Thursday 16 February 2023 18:00 , Bevan Hurley
The Independent’s Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine as residents gather at a town meeting - only to leave with more questions than answers on their fears of catastrophic chemicals.
Ohio left with more questions after East Palestine train derailment meeting
Michigan train derailment probed after disastrous chemical leak in Ohio
Thursday 16 February 2023 17:51 , Bevan Hurley
A freight train carrying toxic materials derailed in Van Buren Township near Detroit, Michigan, on Thursday.
Officials told WXYZ that six cars came off the tracks just before 9am. One of the cars is believed to contain hazardous substances, but there were no signs that it was leaking or that there was any danger to the public.
Police said in a statement that no one was injured in the crash and advised residents to avoid the area: “There is no evidence of exposed hazardous materials, as no train cars containing hazardous materials were compromised.”
The derailment came two weeks after a Norfolk Southern train crashed on the outskirts of East Palestine, Ohio, on 3 February, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate and causing an environmental catastrophe.
Michigan train derailment probed after disastrous chemical leak in Ohio
Watch: Devastating aftermath of Ohio train derailment revealed in shocking video
Thursday 16 February 2023 17:30 , Bevan Hurley
Shocking drone footage has revealed the devastating aftermath in Ohio where a train derailed leading to hazardous chemicals being released in East Palestine.
The footage shot by Zachary Riter of Rubber City Drones LLS, a week after the tragic incident, showed cars scattered off the tracks, surrounded by scorched buildings.
Numerous workers and cranes could be seen in the video, working alongside tracks to clean the site.
“No workers had PPE, and we smelled no odd smells,” the aerial photographers told The Independent.
“They need major assistance... It should be considered a disaster zone.”
Devastating aftermath of Ohio train derailment revealed in shocking video
Map shows area of Ohio affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment
Thursday 16 February 2023 14:00 , Megan Sheets
Thousands of Ohio residents had to evacuate their homes after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic materials derailed on 3 February.
Since then, air and water testing has shown the area is safe to return to, according to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
However, the hazardous substances that were deliberately burned off to avoid an explosion created enormous plumes of black smoke toxic. Residents have reported skin and respiratory illnesses and chemicals have seeped into water supplies and earth.
Here’s a map showing the affected area.
Map: Where the Norfolk Southern train derailed
Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:00 , Bevan Hurley
Thousands of Ohio residents had to evacuate their homes after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic materials derailed on 3 February.
Since then, air and water testing has shown the area is safe to return to, according to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
However, the hazardous substances that were deliberately burned off to avoid an explosion created enormous plumes of black smoke toxic. Residents have reported skin and respiratory illnesses and chemicals have seeped into water supplies and earth.
