Sparks fly as a result of Ohio derailment

water sources,” said Co-President of EFFECT, Bobby Callagy’24.

On February 3rd one of America’s worst ecological disasters ensued as a result of the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous chemicals. Out of the 38 carts on the train, 11 were carrying such materials that set off a massive chemical fire, prompting Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to order an emergency evacuation for East Palestine, Ohio residents and Pennsylvania residents living in proximity of the disaster.

“I was most worried about local people and people in the proximity of the actual accident because from what I’ve heard a lot of the chemicals in the carts being pulled leaked into local streams and local

East Palestine authorities agreed to allow Norfolk Southern to burn the chemicals flowing from the carts to avoid exacerbating damage by leaving the situation uncontrolled.

The New York Times reported that five of the carts were transporting vinyl chloride, a colorless gas incorporated to manufacture plastic products, that can cause headaches, dizziness, and drowsiness from short term exposure, and a rare form of liver cancer after extended exposure. In addition butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ethers were released into East Palestine’s water sources, air, and soil as a result of the initial fire and the burning of such chemicals.

As a result of this release, 43,000 fish have died across 7.5 miles of stream, reported News 5 Cleveland. Norfolk Southern is being held responsible for decontaminating the area and is being sued by many residents for a situation that “was 100 percent preventable,” according to Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board Jennifer L. Homendy in a Washington D.C conference . WFMJ reported that Norfolk Southern has deracinated 4,800 cubic yards of soil and collected 1.7 million gallons of liquid for disposal.

In response to the disaster as a whole, legislation sponsored by representatives Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania and Ro Khanna of California was introduced to congress on March 7th. The Bill proposes to broaden the definition of “high hazard” cargo, so companies transporting hazardous materials can be subjected to federal regulations to avoid any further damage.

In regards to Norfolk Southern, the materials train carts were not considered by Transportation Department standards ‘high hazard”which prevented federal regulation.

Callagy hopes for change. He said, “they should focus on sustainability efforts and try to enforce policy to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.”