EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Authorities are once again warning those near the site of a Norfolk Southern derailment to leave the scene, this time because they plan a “controlled release” this afternoon of the toxic chemical vinyl chloride from five derailed tank cars.
“We are ordering you to leave,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said at a press conference today, the Associated Press reports. DeWine warned that anyone in the area faces “grave danger of death” if they inhale fumes from the release planned for 3:30 p.m. EST.
The area within a 1-mile radius of Friday’s derailment and fire have been under an evacuation order since Saturday morning, but as of Sunday, some 500 people had not yet left their homes. Sunday night, Columbiana County Sheriff Brian McLaughlin had warned those remained that they were subject to arrest [see “Sheriff warns of arrests …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 6, 2023]. Authorities now believe most if not all people have left.
The evacuation area also includes portions of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has joined in the call for evacuation, saying those in the red area on the evacuation map above are risking death while those in the orange are “risking permanent lung damage within hours or days.”
DeWine had issued a new evacuation order Sunday night after the temperature rose dramatically in one car, raising fears of an explosion that authorities have said could send debris up to a mile.
Scott Deutsch, Norfolk Southern’s regional manager for hazardous materials, estimated the controlled-release process would take one to three hours and would allow the fumes to disperse more quickly. WTOV-TV reports Deutsch said a small charge will be used to create a hole of 2½ to 3 inches in the tank car. The chemical will then drain into a ditch lined with flares which will be used to control the burn of the material.
“If we don’t do that, the car could continue to polymerize and the entire car will break apart. We can’t control where that goes,” Deutsch said.
DeWine said a return home for those who have been evacuated “is not going to be quickly.”
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency officials monitoring the area have noted that fish have died in area waters, but said the city’s water remains protected and most people with well water will not be affected.
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