Ohio derailment – live: Train ‘broke down’ days before catastrophic chemical leak in East Palestine

Residents of East Palestine filed a wave of class action lawsuits alleging that efforts to clean up and mitigate the disastrous derailment have instead worsened the situation.

At least five class action negligence lawsuits have now been filed by residents and business owners who were impacted by the fiery chemical train derailment seeking punitive damages and medical monitoring.

EPA administrator Michael Regan travelled to East Palestine on Thursday where he maintained that air and water testing showed that the area was safe for residents to return to.

Mr Regan tweeted that the “terrible incident that has rightfully shaken this community to its core”.

“But I want residents to know: EPA will be here as long as it takes the ensure the health and safety of this community.”

It has since emerged that the Norfolk Southern train that derailed had broken down just two days earlier on 1 February, employees told CBC.

Meanwhile, angry and skeptical residents of East Palestine, Ohio, were left with more questions than answers after a chaotic town meeting on Wednesday.

Hundreds of residents turned out at a high school auditorium armed with questions on Wednesday night - hours after train operator Norfolk Southern declined to attend.

Key points

• Lawsuit alleges Norfolk's clean up efforts 'made it worse'

• Angry Ohio residents seek answers on train's toxic spill

• Animals drop dead as ecological disaster unfolds

• Watch: Devastating aftermath of Ohio train derailment revealed in shocking drone footage

• Ohio train derailment fallout map

• What chemicals were spilled and how toxic are they?

• EPA administrator visits crash site

Norfolk Southern had history of safety failures before Ohio derailment

12:30 , Rachel Sharp

The rail company behind the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, had a history of safety failures long before the 3 February disaster, The Independent can reveal.

Norfolk Southern has a checkered past of deadly accidents and silencing whistleblowers, and was lambasted for safety failures last year after it authorised $10bn stock buybacks for shareholders rather than maintenance.

It has also emerged that the freight train – which derailed in East Palestine while carrying toxic chemicals – had broken down just two days earlier.

The accident, according to rail unions, was “years in the making” and locals now fearful of the health implications are demanding answers.

The Independent’s Bevan Hurley and Louise Boyle have more:

The controversial company behind Ohio’s toxic train disaster

All we know about affected areas and a cancer-causing chemical

12:00 , Bevan Hurley

A dark pillar of smoke rose above East Palestine, Ohio, in early February, prompting a mandatory evacuation of the village’s residents. A Norfolk Southern train carrying numerous hazardous chemicals had suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure, resulting in a derailment. Officials feared the flammable chemicals might ignite in a massive blast of shrapnel and poison, and elected to vent and burn the contents of the traincars to mitigate the potential for further destruction.

More than a week after the Ohio train derailment, information is still trickling out about what exactly happened and what risk the 5,000 residents of East Palestine — and the millions in the surrounding region — may face as a result of the crash.

Here’s everything we know about the train derailment, its causes, and what effect it has — and may have — on the people and the environment.

Train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio: Everything we know

What chemicals were spilled and how toxic are they?

11:00 , Bevan Hurley

Some of the rail tankers that derailed in East Palestine on 3 February contained vinyl chloride.

Crews carried out a controlled burn of the substance to prevent a blast but still sent noxious black clouds billowing across the region.

The fire released phosgene, a gas deployed as a chemical weapon in the First World War, which causes eye irritation, dry burning throat and vomiting.

Vinyl chloride, which is used to make plastic pipes, wires and packaging, is linked to increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, hepatic angiosarcoma, along with primary liver cancer, brain and lung cancers, lymphoma and leukaemia, according to Cancer.gov.

Hydrogen chloride is released by burning vinyl chloride and also an irritant to the skin, nose, eyes and throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad has the story.

What chemicals were spilled in the Ohio train derailment and how toxic are they?

Their town is shrouded in toxic chemicals — but the people of East Palestine still can’t get answers

10:00 , Bevan Hurley

Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine as residents gather at a town meeting - only to leave with more questions than answers on their fears of catastrophic chemicals.

Ohio left with more questions after East Palestine train derailment meeting

East Palestine residents launch wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern

09:00 , Bevan Hurley

Residents of the Ohio town of East Palestine filed a class action lawsuitagainst railway company Norfolk Southern on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of litigation the public company is facing over the disastrous 3 February derailment.

The latest lawsuit alleges that efforts by the company and local and state authorities to clean up after the crash actually worsened the situation, and demands punitive damages and medical monitoring.

The case filed by law firm Morgan & Morgan demands punitive damages and medical monitoring, alleging authorities “purportedly blew holes in the cars containing vinyl chloride, dumping 1.1 million pounds (500,000kgs) of vinyl chloride” into the area.

Full story below.

East Palestine residents file wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern

Ohio train derailment ‘predicted’ by 2022 Netflix movie

08:00 , Bevan Hurley

Netflix viewers have drawn uncanny parallels between a recent film and the chemical spill that took place in Ohio earlier this month.

White Noise, starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, was released on the Netflix late last year.

Adapted from the acclaimed 1985 novel by American writer Don DeLillo, the film follows a death-obsessed academic (Driver), and his family.

One of the biggest plot points in both the book and film concerns a train crash which release a huge cloud of toxic chemicals into the air, referred to somewhat euphemistically as the Airbourne Toxic Event.

Louis Chilton has the story.

Netflix movie White Noise ‘predicted’ train derailment in Ohio

Their town is shrouded in toxic chemicals — but the people of East Palestine still can’t get answers

07:00 , Bevan Hurley

Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine as residents gather at a town meeting - only to leave with more questions than answers on their fears of catastrophic chemicals.

Ohio left with more questions after East Palestine train derailment meeting

Dead animals and reports of sickness as ecological disaster unfolds after Ohio toxic train derailment

06:00 , Bevan Hurley

The ecological fallout from the derailment of a freight traincarrying toxic materials in rural Ohio is still being determined days after the disaster.

Around 50 train cars derailed on 3rd February in the small town of East Palestine including 20 cars carrying hazardous substances.

No one was killed after a broken axle sent the Norfolk Southern train careening off the tracks, investigators said. More than 2,000 residents were evacuated due to health concerns over the chemical leak but have since been allowed to return.

Some of the crashed cars were carrying toxic chemicals - vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether - which were released into the air, surface soils, and surface waters.

The Independent’s Senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle reports.

Dead animals and reports of sickness after Ohio train derailment in East Palestine

All we know about affected areas and a cancer-causing chemical

05:00 , Bevan Hurley

A dark pillar of smoke rose above East Palestine, Ohio, in early February, prompting a mandatory evacuation of the village’s residents. A Norfolk Southern train carrying numerous hazardous chemicals had suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure, resulting in a derailment. Officials feared the flammable chemicals might ignite in a massive blast of shrapnel and poison, and elected to vent and burn the contents of the traincars to mitigate the potential for further destruction.

More than a week after the Ohio train derailment, information is still trickling out about what exactly happened and what risk the 5,000 residents of East Palestine — and the millions in the surrounding region — may face as a result of the crash.

Here’s everything we know about the train derailment, its causes, and what effect it has — and may have — on the people and the environment.

Train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio: Everything we know

Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections

04:00 , Bevan Hurley

A couple and their three-year-old child are suffering from upper respiratory infections in the wake of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Local residents, Chris and Jamie Wallace, and their toddler, went to hospital with breathing issues which they said developed after the train crash.

“I knew something was different when we left town and there was that chemical smell in your nose, as if you were in the bathroom cleaning with bleach and you walk out and you still smell that bleach in your nose,” Jamie Wallace told NewsNation.

Louise Boyle has the story.

Ohio toxic train derailment: Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections

Where did the train carrying toxic chemicals crash in Ohio?

03:00 , Bevan Hurley

East Palestine is situated in Columbiana County, right on the edge of Ohio’s border with Pennsylvania.

EPA Administrator visits East Palestine crash site

02:00 , Bevan Hurley

Michael Regan, the EPA Administrator, travelled to East Palestine on Thursday where he visited the site of the catastrophic Norfolk Southern derailment.

Mr Regan tweeted that the “terrible incident that has rightfully shaken this community to its core”.

“But I want residents to know: @EPA will be here as long as it takes the ensure the health and safety of this community.”

Their town is shrouded in toxic chemicals — but the people of East Palestine still can’t get answers

01:00 , Bevan Hurley

Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine as residents gather at a town meeting - only to leave with more questions than answers on their fears of catastrophic chemicals

Ohio left with more questions after East Palestine train derailment meeting

East Palestine residents launch wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern

00:00 , Bevan Hurley

Residents of the Ohio town of East Palestine filed a class action lawsuitagainst railway company Norfolk Southern on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of litigation the public company is facing over the disastrous 3 February derailment.

The latest lawsuit alleges that efforts by the company and local and state authorities to clean up after the crash actually worsened the situation, and demands punitive damages and medical monitoring.

The case filed by law firm Morgan & Morgan demands punitive damages and medical monitoring, alleging authorities “purportedly blew holes in the cars containing vinyl chloride, dumping 1.1 million pounds (500,000kgs) of vinyl chloride” into the area.

Full story below.

East Palestine residents file wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown visits East Palestine derailment site

Thursday 16 February 2023 23:20 , Bevan Hurley

Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown visited the derailment site in East Palestine on Thursday.

“Spent the day in East Palestine talking with residents, local firefighters, and @EPA and @OhioEPA officials,” he posted on Twitter.

“I’m 100% committed to getting this community the answers and the help they need.”

Earlier, Mr Brown called on Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to declare a state of emergency.

Ohio train derailment ‘predicted’ by 2022 Netflix movie

Thursday 16 February 2023 22:50 , Bevan Hurley

Netflix viewers have drawn uncanny parallels between a recent film and the chemical spill that took place in Ohio earlier this month.

White Noise, starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, was released on the Netflix late last year.

Adapted from the acclaimed 1985 novel by American writer Don DeLillo, the film follows a death-obsessed academic (Driver), and his family.

One of the biggest plot points in both the book and film concerns a train crash which release a huge cloud of toxic chemicals into the air, referred to somewhat euphemistically as the Airbourne Toxic Event.

Louis Chilton has the story.

Netflix movie White Noise ‘predicted’ train derailment in Ohio

Dead animals and reports of sickness as ecological disaster unfolds after Ohio toxic train derailment

Thursday 16 February 2023 22:20 , Bevan Hurley

The ecological fallout from the derailment of a freight traincarrying toxic materials in rural Ohio is still being determined days after the disaster.

Around 50 train cars derailed on 3rd February in the small town of East Palestine including 20 cars carrying hazardous substances.

No one was killed after a broken axle sent the Norfolk Southern train careening off the tracks, investigators said. More than 2,000 residents were evacuated due to health concerns over the chemical leak but have since been allowed to return.

Some of the crashed cars were carrying toxic chemicals - vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether - which were released into the air, surface soils, and surface waters.

The Independent’s Senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle reports.

Dead animals and reports of sickness after Ohio train derailment in East Palestine

What chemicals were spilled and how toxic are they?

Thursday 16 February 2023 21:50 , Bevan Hurley

Some of the rail tankers that derailed in East Palestine on 3 February contained vinyl chloride.

Crews carried out a controlled burn of the substance to prevent a blast but still sent noxious black clouds billowing across the region.

The fire released phosgene, a gas deployed as a chemical weapon in the First World War, which causes eye irritation, dry burning throat and vomiting.

Vinyl chloride, which is used to make plastic pipes, wires and packaging, is linked to increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, hepatic angiosarcoma, along with primary liver cancer, brain and lung cancers, lymphoma and leukaemia, according to Cancer.gov.

Hydrogen chloride is released by burning vinyl chloride and also an irritant to the skin, nose, eyes and throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad has the story.

What chemicals were spilled in the Ohio train derailment and how toxic are they?

EPA Administrator visits East Palestine crash site

Thursday 16 February 2023 21:33 , Bevan Hurley

Michael Regan, the EPA Administrator, travelled to East Palestine on Thursday where he visited the site of the catastrophic Norfolk Southern derailment.

Mr Regan tweeted that the “terrible incident that has rightfully shaken this community to its core”.

“But I want residents to know: @EPA will be here as long as it takes the ensure the health and safety of this community.”

East Palestine residents launch wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern

Thursday 16 February 2023 21:20 , Bevan Hurley

Residents of the Ohio town of East Palestine filed a class action lawsuitagainst railway company Norfolk Southern on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of litigation the public company is facing over the disastrous 3 February derailment.

The latest lawsuit alleges that efforts by the company and local and state authorities to clean up after the crash actually worsened the situation, and demands punitive damages and medical monitoring.

The case filed by law firm Morgan & Morgan demands punitive damages and medical monitoring, alleging authorities “purportedly blew holes in the cars containing vinyl chloride, dumping 1.1 million pounds (500,000kgs) of vinyl chloride” into the area.

“I’m not sure Norfolk Southern could have come up with a worse plan to address this disaster,” attorney John Morgan said in a statement.

Full story below.

East Palestine residents file wave of class action lawsuits against Norfolk Southern

West Virginia drinking water cleared by health officials

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:50 , Bevan Hurley

West Virginia officials have reiterated that the state’s drinking water remains safe following an Ohio train derailment that led to a toxic plume of chemicals being released.

Chemicals that leaked from the derailment are being monitored as they move down the Ohio River, but they are not affecting the supply of drinking water, officials said during a briefing Thursday.

“We have not had any reports of this substance entering the water supply in any of the affected areas and there are no water advisories being issued at this time,” said state Health Officer Matt Christensen.

West Virginia drinking water still clear of derailment toxin

Another train carrying hazardous materials derails

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:20 , Bevan Hurley

A freight train carrying toxic materials derailed in Van Buren Township near Detroit, Michigan, on Thursday.

Officials told WXYZ that six cars came off the tracks just before 9am. One of the cars is believed to contain hazardous substances, but there were no signs that it was leaking or that there was any danger to the public.

Police said in a statement that no one was injured in the crash and advised residents to avoid the area: “There is no evidence of exposed hazardous materials, as no train cars containing hazardous materials were compromised.”

The derailment came two weeks after a Norfolk Southern train crashed on the outskirts of East Palestine, Ohio, on 3 February, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate and causing an environmental catastrophe.

Michigan train derailment probed after disastrous chemical leak in Ohio

‘Would you feel comfortable having your kids there?'

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:51 , Bevan Hurley

EPA administrator Michael Regan is being grilled about air quality in East Palestine.

A reporter asks him if he would feel comfortable returning with his children to the evacuation site.

He reiterates that the air and water quality testing is safe for residents to return.

He said that those with the means to do so may choose to stay away, but for residents with no other options, that it was safe to return.

“I am asking that they trust the government,” Mr Regan says. He acknowledges that trust in the government may be low, and that’s why they are trying to act with transparency.

EPA administrator Michael Regan addresses residents’ concerns about water and air quality

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:42 , Bevan Hurley

Michael Regan is speaking at a press briefing in East Palestine. He said that officials were testing well water, surface water, and air quality.

He said the EPA was using airplanes and stationary devices to test the air at different altitudes, and they had personally tested more than 500 houses.

Every chemical present on the derailed Norfolk Southern train was being tested for, he added.

“We feel comfortable that we’re casting a net wide enough that will present a picture that will protect the community,” Mr Regan said.

EPA officials: ‘We are not going anywhere’

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:37 , Bevan Hurley

Officials from the Ohio EPA are stressing that they will remain in East Palestine for the long haul.

Anne M. Vogel, the director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said that they heard residents’ concerns at an emotional town meeting on Wednesday night.

She said that testing continues to show that there is no danger to water and air in the township.

Ms Vogel said the EPA was still in the emergency phase of the response, and that they would remain their for some time.

“We are not going anywhere.”

Ohio Senator tells Norfolk Southern not to force residents to give up their legal rights

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:30 , Bevan Hurley

Sherrod Brown says he is watching Norfolk Southern very closely.

He said he has asked the rail company not to try to force people to give up their legal rights by accepting payment of $1,000 or $2,000.

“There is no justification for that,” he said.

Federal officials are holding a press briefing in East Palestine

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:27 , Bevan Hurley

Senator Sherrod Brown and the Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan are in East Palestine this afternoon to meet with and reassure residents.

Here’s a link to their live briefing which is happening now.

White House defends Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:24 , Bevan Hurley

There was palpable anger at federal officials during a town meeting in East Palestine on Wednesday night, with many residents asking: “Where’s Pete Buttigieg?”

Amid fierce criticism of the Transport Secretary in recent days, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden maintained “absolute confidence” in him during a press briefing on Thursday.

Mr Buttigieg told Yahoo Finance on Thursday that more needed to be done to address rail safety.

Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections after East Palestine train derailment

Thursday 16 February 2023 18:50 , Bevan Hurley

A couple and their three-year-old child are suffering from upper respiratory infections in the wake of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Local residents, Chris and Jamie Wallace, and their toddler, went to hospital with breathing issues which they said developed after the train crash.

“I knew something was different when we left town and there was that chemical smell in your nose, as if you were in the bathroom cleaning with bleach and you walk out and you still smell that bleach in your nose,” Jamie Wallace told NewsNation on Tuesday.

Read Senior Clime Corrrespondent Louise Boyle’s story.

Ohio toxic train derailment: Couple and toddler diagnosed with respiratory infections

Train in Ohio derailment ‘broke down’ days before catastrophic chemical leak

Thursday 16 February 2023 18:30 , Bevan Hurley

A Norfolk Southern train which was carrying toxic chemicals and suffered a catastrophic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, broke down at least once before, employees familiar with the matter said.

The train, originating from Madison, Illinois, broke down just two days before derailing on 1 February, likely because of its excessive weight and size, the unnamed employees told CBC.

The employees who were working the train were concerned as its length was 151 cars long, stretching 9,300ft and weighing 18,000 tonnes.

Shweta Sharma has the full story.

Train in Ohio derailment ‘broke down’ days before catastrophic chemical leak

Thirteen days after the Ohio train derailment, a chaotic East Palestine meeting fuels fury and fear

Thursday 16 February 2023 18:00 , Bevan Hurley

The Independent’s Graig Graziosi reports from East Palestine as residents gather at a town meeting - only to leave with more questions than answers on their fears of catastrophic chemicals.

Ohio left with more questions after East Palestine train derailment meeting

Michigan train derailment probed after disastrous chemical leak in Ohio

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:51 , Bevan Hurley

A freight train carrying toxic materials derailed in Van Buren Township near Detroit, Michigan, on Thursday.

Officials told WXYZ that six cars came off the tracks just before 9am. One of the cars is believed to contain hazardous substances, but there were no signs that it was leaking or that there was any danger to the public.

Police said in a statement that no one was injured in the crash and advised residents to avoid the area: “There is no evidence of exposed hazardous materials, as no train cars containing hazardous materials were compromised.”

The derailment came two weeks after a Norfolk Southern train crashed on the outskirts of East Palestine, Ohio, on 3 February, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate and causing an environmental catastrophe.

Michigan train derailment probed after disastrous chemical leak in Ohio

Watch: Devastating aftermath of Ohio train derailment revealed in shocking video

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:30 , Bevan Hurley

Shocking drone footage has revealed the devastating aftermath in Ohio where a train derailed leading to hazardous chemicals being released in East Palestine.

The footage shot by Zachary Riter of Rubber City Drones LLS, a week after the tragic incident, showed cars scattered off the tracks, surrounded by scorched buildings.

Numerous workers and cranes could be seen in the video, working alongside tracks to clean the site.

“No workers had PPE, and we smelled no odd smells,” the aerial photographers told The Independent.

“They need major assistance... It should be considered a disaster zone.”

Devastating aftermath of Ohio train derailment revealed in shocking video

Map shows area of Ohio affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:00 , Megan Sheets

Thousands of Ohio residents had to evacuate their homes after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic materials derailed on 3 February.

Since then, air and water testing has shown the area is safe to return to, according to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

However, the hazardous substances that were deliberately burned off to avoid an explosion created enormous plumes of black smoke toxic. Residents have reported skin and respiratory illnesses and chemicals have seeped into water supplies and earth.

Here’s a map showing the affected area.

Map: Where the Norfolk Southern train derailed

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:00 , Bevan Hurley

Thousands of Ohio residents had to evacuate their homes after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic materials derailed on 3 February.

Since then, air and water testing has shown the area is safe to return to, according to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

However, the hazardous substances that were deliberately burned off to avoid an explosion created enormous plumes of black smoke toxic. Residents have reported skin and respiratory illnesses and chemicals have seeped into water supplies and earth.