Train accident and chemical accident in Ohio - residents demand clarification

After the derailment of a freight train loaded with dangerous chemicals in the US state of Ohio at the beginning of February, there is a risk of possible environmental damage, as the local authorities have now officially admitted.

"Four 7.5 miles of watercourses are contaminated," Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz said at a news conference Tuesday, according to a CNN report. "We estimated about 3,500 dead fish in this area, streams, tributaries and waterways based on our sampling and modeling," Mertz said. None of the twelve affected species are currently endangered or threatened, but it is still a loss for wildlife.

Also on Wednesday, concerned residents gathered at a school gym to get answers about whether they are at risk from the chemicals that have been spilled or burned there. State officials reassured them that tests would show the air was safe to breathe. At the same time, they promised that air and water surveillance would continue.

About 50 wagons of the freight train, some of which were loaded with vinyl chloride and other chemicals, derailed on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Several of the tankers caught fire. Because of the risk of an explosion, residents within a mile of the scene of the accident were asked to leave their homes.

Local authorities then decided to release the vinyl chloride to prevent an explosion. That release was the source of those frightening black plumes in the air that have been sweeping social media, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance said in a statement on Twitter. But they have since disappeared.

Nevertheless, pictures and video clips of the black clouds are still circulating on social media and are sometimes commented on badly. There are also unconfirmed reports of local, large-scale deaths of farm animals such as poultry, which would have suddenly been found dead in some residents' stalls. However, these reports have not been officially confirmed.

Meanwhile, Senator Vance emphasized that questions about security for residents are open. "This is a complex environmental catastrophe with impacts that are difficult to assess in the short term," Vance said. East Palestine residents who have drinking water wells can request a test for contamination, according to the Ohio Department of Health. "We need to know what the level of groundwater contamination is, and private well testing gives us that information," explained Vance.

Nearly two weeks after the derailment, local people remain concerned about lingering odors, risks to domestic and wild animals, and the potential impact on drinking water and clean-up efforts. School lessons on site have now resumed, and the trains are rolling again, but reservations remain.

"Why are they keeping it still?" Asked local resident Kathy Dyke in the direction of the railroad company. "They're not out here to support, they're not out here to answer questions. For three days we didn't even know what was on the train." She added, according to the AP agency, "I have three grandchildren. Will you grow up here in five years and have cancer? These are all factors that concern me.”

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Wednesday that his office is considering legal action against the rail operator. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also said that state and local authorities are taking samples throughout the Ohio River "to ensure that drinking water abstraction points are not affected".