In early February, a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in eastern Ohiocausing a fire that blanketed the city in eastern Palestine in smoke.
Fearing a large explosion, authorities cordoned off an evacuation zone. and a controlled emission of toxic gases was carried out to neutralize the burning load of some wagons.
Residents feared for their health, as concern grew about the effects of the derailment and fire on the environment and the transportation network.
These are some questions about the accident.
How concerned should Americans be?
hIt has been more than a week since some 50 freight cars derailed and crashed on the outskirts of eastern Palestine.near the Pennsylvania state line, apparently due to a mechanical problem with a wagon axle.
No one was injured in that accident. But concerns about air quality and dangerous chemicals aboard the train have caused some city residents to leave, and officials later ordered evacuations of the surrounding area as fears grew of a potential explosion from the smoking wreck.
Officials seeking to avoid the danger of an uncontrolled explosion chose intentionally releasing and burning vinyl chloride from five of the train cars, which caused flames and black smoke to rise again into the sky.
The shocking scene led people to question the potential impact on the health of residents in the area and beyond, even as authorities argued they were doing everything they could to keep people safe.
Since then, the concerns and questions of residents have only grown and have been amplified in part by the spread of incorrect or false information on the Internet.
Was the controlled burning of the wagons with chemicals safe?
Vinyl chloride is associated with an increased risk of some types of cancer.r, and officials warned at the time that its combustion would release two worrying gases: hydrochloric acid and phosgene, which was used as a weapon during World War I.
Environmental officials say monitors detected airborne toxins at the site during the controlled burn. They also point it out continuous air monitoring performed for railroads and by government agencies — even inside nearly 400 homes — has not detected dangerous levels in the area since residents were allowed to return.
What is the danger of chemicals for the inhabitants?
Even in communities outside of eastern Palestine, some residents say they are concerned about the long-term effects of exposure. even low-grade contaminants from the accident site.
The city has scheduled a town hall meeting at the local high school for Wednesday evening. to hear questions from residents, whose concerns include lingering odors, how to ensure cleanliness and what to do with pets and livestock that appear sick or have died after the derailment.
The risk to such animals is low, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.which recommends people contact a local vet if they have concerns about the health of their livestock or pets.
The department has not received any official reports of livestock or pet illnesses or deaths directly related to the crash, although that shows it would require an autopsy and lab work, the Ohio Department of Agriculture said.
Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff warned at a news conference Tuesday that residents are concerned lingering odors or headaches due to derailment they should know that these can be caused by levels of pollutants in the air well below what is unsafe.
The derailment also raised concerns about the safety of the railway system.although federal data shows that accidents of this magnitude involving hazardous materials are very rare. Trains passed through eastern Palestine again shortly after the evacuation order was lifted.
What dangers are there on land and in the water?
Contaminants from derailed train cars leaked into some waterways and were toxic to fishbut officials said the area’s drinking water remained protected.
In addition to vinyl chloride, at least three other substances – butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether – they were released into the air, soil or water, according to a letter from the EPA notify train operator Norfolk Southern of its potential liability for clean-up costs.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates the spill affected more than 7 miles (11 kilometers) of streams and killed about 3,500 fish..
A slick of pollutants including butyl acrylate formed in the Ohio River in LThe first days after the derailment and Tuesday went by slowly, near Huntington, West Virginia, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency officials said.
The amounts of contaminants found so far pose no risk to cities that depend on the river for their drinking water, and the patch continues to thin out as it progresses, the state EPA said.
In response, some water companies have closed their outlets or increased treatment processes as a precaution.
Is the information circulating on social networks reliable?
As with any developing situation, misinformation and hype about the derailment spread online in recent days.
Some social media users, for example, falsely claimed that drinking water is contaminated throughout the Ohio River Basin despite the fact that many areas of the region, which spans several states, are unaffected by the release of the chemicals.
Images of dark, ominous clouds claiming to have shown eastern Palestine after the fire also circulated, despite those images appearing online in November 2022.
As information continues to spread, disinformation experts stress that people need to be careful before sharing unverified claims.
‘What caused the accident?
Detectives have examined the car that started the derailment and have surveillance video from a home showing “what appears to be a bearing rotates in the final stage of overheating failure moments before the derailmentthe National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Tuesday. His preliminary report is expected in two weeks.
However, train operator Norfolk Southern and the NTSB did not publicly answer a major question about the Feb. 3 derailment: when exactly the crew was alerted to a mechanical problem with the axle of a railroad car —the suspected cause— and whether you responded appropriately.
A flaw detector en route alerted the crew to a mechanical problem “just before the derailment” and emergency braking began, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board said that weekend.
Security videos of two companies in Salem, Ohio shows the underside of a glowing chariot on a tree that appears to be burning, indicating the train could have traveled more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) with that failure before the derailment, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The NTSB says it also reviews that video.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.