Donations will be used to offset housing and supply expenses for those residents that were displaced from their homes. Residents within a 15 mile radius had to evacuate with little notice and have been unable to return for a sustained amount of time.
On Feb. 3, a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in eastern Ohio, igniting a fire that covered the town of East Palestine in smoke. Fearful of an explosion, the authorities carved out an evacuation zone and carried out a controlled release of toxic fumes to neutralize burning cargo inside some of the train cars. Residents feared for their health as concerns mounted about the effect the derailment and the fire could have on the environment and the transportation network. Here’s what to know about what happened, and what comes next.
Around 9 p.m. on Feb. 3, a train derailed in East Palestine, a village of about 4,700 residents about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. There were 150 cars on the route from Madison, Ill., to Conway, Pa. The National Transportation Safety Board said that 38 cars derailed and a fire ensued, damaging another 12 cars. The train, operated by Norfolk Southern, had been carrying chemicals and combustible materials, with vinyl chloride, a toxic flammable gas, being of most concern to investigators. Residents on both sides of the Ohio-Pennsylvania border were ordered to evacuate, as Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio raised alarms about a possible explosion. On Feb. 6, the authorities released the toxic materials from five tankers, and the contents were diverted to a trench and burned off.
