EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Authorities in Columbiana County, Ohio, have said they will arrest those ignoring the evacuation zone near a Norfolk Southern derailment and fire that occurred on Friday, citing the “high probability of a toxic gas release or explosion.”
The announcement on the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page follows Sunday night’s evacuation order by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, which cited “a drastic temperature change” with one of the cars in the derailed train, increasing the possibility of an explosion that could send shrapnel up to a mile [see “Ohio governor issues new evacuation order …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 5, 2023].
CNN reports the car involved contains vinyl chloride, according to Fire Chief Keith Drabick. The carcinogenic chemical was being transported in five of the derailed cars, and Drabick said the “catastrophic failure, if it occurs, will produce hydrogen chloride and phosgene gas into the atmosphere.” Hydrogen chloride can cause eye, skin, and respiratory irritation, with more serious damage at high levels; phosgene gas is poisonous and was used in chemical warfare in World War I.
The announcement from Sheriff Brian McLaughlin says those ignoring the evacuation order face a fourth-degree misdemeanor if adults are in the household, or a first-degree misdemeanor if children are present, plus charges of endangering children. A number of roads have been closed in the area, with intersections monitored by officers, WFMJ-TV reports.
DeWine arrived at the derailment site this morning and attended a briefing at the school serving as the local command center, USA Today reports.
On Sunday, officials estimated about 500 people of the 1,500 to 2,000 covered by the evacuation order had not left the area.
The derailment of about 50 cars of the NS train en route from Madison, Ill., to Conway, Pa., occurred about 9 p.m. Friday night. Ten of the derailed cars contain hazardous materials; the fire that began Friday night continues to burn, with first responders kept at a distance because of the unstable situation.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators said Sunday that they had obtained video suggesting there was a “mechanical issue” with an axle on one of the railcars, and that the train’s crew had been informed of a defect by a wayside detector just before the derailment.
Schools and village offices in East Palestine will be closed today, as are a number of local businesses, WFMJ-TV reports.
WBOY-TV reports East Palestine police dispatchers are among those who have been evacuated because of the explosion risk, and that the Norfolk Southern family assistance center — opened to aid those dislocated because of the ongoing evacuation — has been moved because of road closures. The center is now at Abundant Life Fellowship Church, 46469 Route 46, in New Waterford, Ohio; it was scheduled to reopen at noon EST today and will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the duration of the evacuation.
— Updated at 11:38 a.m. CST with visit by Ohio governor, evacuation of dispatchers, relocation of NS assistance center.
I am guessing that the people being shooed away from the site are hundreds of You Tubers looking for something to record for their channels. The next round of shoo aways are drone operators that are again, trying to collect content for their You Tube channels.
So OHIO has a law that states you must obey an evacation order or face possible criminal charges? I can see the child endangerment if kids are in the household, but isn’t ultimately the responsibility of adults to decide whether or not to evacuate? Even if ordered to?
As for the hot box video and subsuquent defect detector warning, part of the NTSB investigation will be to determine, if possible, what caused the overheated bearing in the first place…which is part of the reason it’ll take two years for the final report…metalurgical testing of all components.
I’ve noticed lately the defect detector near my house has been way more active than before. The dispatcher or wayside office has been letting them roll 30mph to the next siding to check it out. Was this a similar situation?
One of the issues that will be primal in fixing the cause is that the D/ D spacing was a parenterally to far apart to catch the hot journal before failure.
It will take the NTSB days to gather information, than two years to issue the official report. Meanwhile a video of the train passing several miles before the derailment site clearly shows the overheated failing journal on a hopper car and those listening to the scanner heard the detector at the site going off just before the derailment and the fire that melted melted it .