This is an evolving story. Check back for updates.
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Crews released toxic chemicals into the air from five derailed tanker cars that were in danger of exploding Monday and began burning them after warning residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line to leave immediately or face the possibility of death.
Flames and black smoke billowed high into the sky from the derailment site late in the afternoon, about an hour after authorities said the controlled release would begin.
The slow release of vinyl chloride from five rail cars into a trough that was then ignited created a large plume above the village of East Palestine but authorities said they were closely monitoring the air quality.
“Thus far, no concerning readings have been detected," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a brief evening news conference about three hours after the venting-and-burning procedure began.
However, he urged Pennsylvania residents within a 2-mile radius of the derailment site to shelter in place and keep their doors and windows closed through the evening as a precaution in case of wind shifts.
Shapiro also said he had spoken to President Joe Biden, who had offered “the full support of the federal government" to Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Pennsylvanians’ health and safety are my top priority. ⁰
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) February 7, 2023
We will continue to monitor the situation and coordinate closely with our partners in Ohio and in the federal government. https://t.co/B904lyZRd0
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine earlier ordered evacuations in the area of the derailment that has been smoldering since Friday night. Authorities believed most, if not all, residents in the danger zone had left but they were knocking on doors one more time before releasing the vinyl chloride inside the cars, he said.
“You need to leave, you just need to leave. This is a matter of life and death,” DeWine said at a news conference.
Officials warned the controlled burn would send phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air. Phosgene is a highly toxic gas that can cause vomiting and breathing trouble and was used as a weapon in World War I.
About three hours into the procedure, Norfolk Southern Railway issued a statement saying that experts and first responders had breached the rail cars, chemicals were burning off and the cars were expected to drain for several more hours.
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6:15 p.m. Monday update:
Crews began releasing toxic chemicals into the air from five derailed tanker cars that were in danger of exploding Monday after warning residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line to leave immediately or face the possibility of death.
Flames and black smoke billowed high into the sky from the derailment site late Monday afternoon, about an hour after authorities said the controlled release would begin. The Ohio Emergency Management Agency confirmed the release was underway.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine earlier ordered evacuations in the area of the derailment that has been smoldering since Friday night. Authorities believe most, if not all, residents in the danger zone had left, but they were knocking on doors one more time before releasing the vinyl chloride inside the cars, he said.
“You need to leave, you just need to leave. This is a matter of life and death,” DeWine said at a press conference.
Officials warned the controlled burn would send phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air. Phosgene is a highly toxic gas that can cause vomiting and breathing trouble and was used as a weapon in World War I.
Scott Deutsch of Norfolk Southern Railway said doing this during the daytime would allow the fumes to disperse more quickly and prevent the rail cars from exploding and sending shrapnel and other debris from flying through the neighborhood.
“We can't control where that goes,” said Deutsch, who estimated the release would take from one to three hours.
The process involves using a small charge to blow a hole in the cars, allowing the material to go into a trench and burning it off before it's released in the air, he said. The crews handling the controlled release have done this safely before, Deutsch said.
The site is very close to the Ohio-Pennsylvania line, and the evacuation area extends into a sparsely populated area of Pennsylvania. About half of the 4,800 residents in East Palestine had been warned to leave during the weekend before officials decided on Monday to use the controlled release.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the evacuation zone includes about 20 Pennsylvania residences. Pennsylvania State Police went door-to-door to assist the last remaining residents and ensure they left.
“This is very serious,” he said. “I want you to know that if I were there right now, if the First Lady and our children were there right now, we would evacuate. We would leave this area. It is potentially too dangerous.”
Forced evacuations began Sunday night in the village of East Palestine after authorities became alarmed that the rail cars could explode after a “drastic temperature change” was observed in a rail car.
Residents were packing overnight bags, loading their pets into cars and searching for hotel rooms Monday morning. Police in the village moved out of their communication center as the threat of an explosion increased.
Police cars, snow plows and military vehicles from the Ohio National Guard blocked streets leading into the area.
About 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash Friday night, according to Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board. No injuries to crew, residents or first responders were reported.
Five were transporting vinyl chloride, which is used to make the polyvinyl chloride hard plastic resin in plastic products and is associated with increased risk of liver cancer and other cancers, according to the federal government’s National Cancer Institute
Federal investigators say a mechanical issue with a rail car axle caused the derailment.
The three-member train crew received an alert about the mechanical defect “shortly before the derailment," NTSB board member Michael Graham said Sunday. Investigators identified the exact “point of derailment,” but the board was still working to determine which rail car experienced the axle issue, he said.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, who declared a state of emergency in the village, said one person was arrested for going around barricades right up to the crash. He warned people to stay away and said they'd risk arrest.
“I don't know why anybody would want to be up there; you're breathing toxic fumes if you're that close,” he said.
Original story from 2:30 p.m.:
A weekend train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio took a dramatic turn on Monday afternoon, as Norfolk Southern, the train company, planned to release toxic fumes into the air at 3:30 p.m. in order to avoid a large explosion that could potentially harm even more people.
That’s according to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who spoke at a last-minute press conference just after 1:30 p.m. and issued an urgent warning for Pennsylvania residents to evacuate a small area along the Ohio border about 50 miles from Pittsburgh. Roughly two dozen people live in the area, about half of whom have already left, he said.
“Let me be very, very clear: If you are in this red zone that is on the map and you refuse to evacuate, you are risking death. This is very serious. If you are within the orange area on this map, you risk permanent lung damage within a matter of hours or days,” he said. “This is my strongest possible recommendation ... joined in by every public safety expert.”
Shapiro said local emergency services workers and state police were going door-to-door trying to convince the 10 Pennsylvanians who had not evacuated to leave.
Shapiro said Norfolk Southern made the decision to do a “slow release” of the vinyl chloride in five of its rail cars because they are “currently unstable and could potentially explode, resulting in deadly shrapnel and toxic fumes.” But he said the slow release could also be deadly.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had already issued an evacuation warning and local and state officials were going door-to-door to try to get some of the residents who resisted an initial evacuation warning to leave. Shapiro said the evacuation he was encouraging is in the same area that DeWine already ordered yesterday.
Shapiro warned some additional Pennsylvania residents to shelter in place.
"Beyond the evacuation zone, based on current weather conditions, we are recommending people who live near East Palestine in Darlington Township along State Line Road, Valley Road and Taggert Road to shelter in place and be prepared to evacuate if necessary,” he said. “We know that weather can change.”
Shapiro said people in the broader area should exercise caution and should reach out to Beaver County Emergency Services for assistance at 724-775-0880.
Shapiro said Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection officials had concluded there had not been any air or water contamination in Pennsylvania, and there were no current threats to residents in the larger southwestern Pennsylvania region, including in the Pittsburgh area.
A spokesperson for the Allegheny County Health Department said in an email that its air quality monitoring stations had not picked up on any changes as a result of the derailment.
Shapiro said he expected to provide an update later in the day after the controlled release at 3:30 p.m.
Associated Press journalists Kantele Franko, Gene Puskar and Brooke Schultz in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed. Schultz is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
