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February 7, 2023

Crews Release Poisonous Gases from Wreckage of Train That Derailed in Ohio
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Ohio Governor Mike De Wine ordered residents of the village of East
Palestine to evacuate their homes and businesses Monday, after a freight
train crash spread smoke and toxic chemicals into the community 50 miles
northwest of Pittsburgh.

Gov. Mike De Wine: "You need to leave. You just need to leave. We are
ordering you to leave. This is a matter of life and death."

On Friday evening, a freight train derailment triggered a massive fire
that engulfed the surrounding area in smoke and threatened to cause a
major explosion. The wreckage contained poisonous chemicals including
phosgene, hydrogen chloride and vinyl chloride. On Monday, the train's
operator, Norfolk Southern, said it carried out a controlled release of
the chemicals into the air. Some residents of East Palestine who packed
into emergency shelters said they will be reluctant to return to their
homes.

Jami Cozza: "The creek by my house had a very, very strong chemical
smell to it. I went in my house. It was worse. I gathered clothes up and
left. When I left, the clothes stunk so bad, even the ones that were in
my dryer, that I had to wash them at the hotel. My laptop for work stunk
like chemicals. There's definitely something going on with the water,
and I don't even know that I want to go back when they lift the
evacuation."

The accident brought renewed attention to so-called bomb trains
transporting crude oil and other dangerous chemicals through communities
across the United States.


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