UPDATE: The image has been clarified for the evacuation area of half-mile radius. https://t.co/lTpcF0Ni9U pic.twitter.com/Mv66wHwCss
— Hamilton County EMA (@HCEMA) September 24, 2024
CLEVES, Ohio — An evacuation order was lifted this evening (Wednesday, Sept. 25) in the area where a tank car began leaking the toxic, flammable chemical styrene on Tuesday.
The order was lifted about 6:30 p.m. ET after air-quality evaluations determined no threat existed from the leak, which was first reported at 12:46 p.m. Tuesday but had been halted overnight, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
The leak occurred in a yard for Genesee & Wyoming’s Central Railroad of Indiana, which runs between Cincinnati and Shelbyville, Ind. A railroad representative told the Enquirer that tank car likely had begun venting because stabilizing additives used to maintain the chemical’s properties became “ineffective.” Approximately 210 homes within a half-mile radius of the incident site were evacuated; others just outside that area were advised to shelter in place, keeping windows and doors closed with heaters off, while several local schools were closed. No injuries were reported and there have been no reports of symptoms related to chemical exposure.
The leaking car was separated from 29 others on the same track in the yard about 10 p.m. Tuesday. The venting halted after crews worked overnight to cool the tank car, easing initial concerns of a possible explosion.
Cleves, population 3,414 as of the 2020 census, is in Hamilton County, Ohio, about 14 miles from downtown Cincinnati.
— Updated at 7:50 p.m. CT with end of evacuations.
