EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The chemical burning in the fire resulting from Friday’s derailment of a Norfolk Southern train is the flammable gas vinyl chloride, a potentially carcinogenic substance.
The village of East Palestine identified the material in a news release Saturday afternoon, NBC News reports. The Environmental Protection Agency says “cancer is a major concern from exposure to vinyl chloride via inhalation.”
Up to 2,000 East Palestine residents remain under an evacuation order resulting from the Friday night derailment and subsequent fire involving an NS train [see “Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio continues to burn,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 4, 2023]. The Salem, Ohio, News reports the evacuees could be displaced for some time, as officials indicated it could be days before the fire is extinguished. NS is not allowing firefighters into the area because of safety concerns resulting from a lack of knowledge over which cars may be involved in the fire.
Village officials said “zero health risks” have been discovered so far as a result of the derailment. Drinking water may be discolored because of the amount being used to fight the fire, but remains safe to drink, they said.
Michael Graham, heading a National Transportation Safety Board team investigating the derailment, said in an afternoon press briefing that about 50 cars of a 150-car train had derailed at the James Street crossing in East Palestine at 8:55 p.m. on Friday. NS had previously said 20 cars may contain hazardous materials; Graham said four of those were carrying vinyl chloride and have been exposed to fire, and that efforts are ongoing to determine which cars of hazardous material may have been breached.
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