A derailment along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border is sparking fear and uproar in communities along key railroad corridors. The Wall Street Journal reports that on February 6, authorities were working to drain the chemical vinyl chloride from a’s cars Norfolk South Train which derailed on February 3 near the village of Ohio in eastern Palestine and started a fire.
Residents were evacuated from a large area as workers tried to prevent a potentially catastrophic explosion.
Norfolk Southern says deliveries in an area from Chicago to New York and Kansas City are being delayed as workers try to clear the scene.
The derailment of 50 train cars is the latest accident drawing attention to the dangerous industrial loads being transported on the tracks. Environmental groups said this and other recent petrochemical-related accidents in the region, including a fire at a natural gas compressor station in December and six other train derailments since 2021, are putting local residents at risk.
