By Aria Bendix and David K. Li – NBC News
Authorities have been telling residents of the surrounding areas of the East Palestine (Ohio) community for several days that it is safe to return to their homes after the derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals in early February.
As of Wednesday, chemicals being shipped in multiple railcars and spilled after the accident have killed some 3,500 fish along more than 7 miles of streams, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources revealed.
A resident of the town of North Lima, more than 10 miles from East Palestine, recounted that her five hens and her rooster had died suddenly on Tuesday, reported local television channel WKBN-TV in Youngstown.
[Gobernador de Ohio emite alerta ante posibilidad de una explosión “catastrófica” en el sitio donde se descarriló un tren]
A day earlier, rail operator Norfolk Southern, which operated the derailed train, burned some carriages carrying a flammable gas called vinyl chloride, to prevent an explosion.
For some people who live near the accident site, reports continue to raise fears that they and their animals are being exposed to chemicals through the air, water and soil.
“Don’t tell me it’s safe. Something is happening if there are (dead) fish floating in the stream.”declared last week Cathey Reese, a resident of Negley, Ohio, to the Pittsburgh WPXI chain, affiliated with NBC News. Reese claimed that she saw the dead fish in a stream that runs through her backyard.
Jenna Giannios, 39, is a wedding photographer in the nearby town of Boardman. Over the last week and a half have suffered from a persistent coughdespite the fact that she has drunk bottled water and does not feel comfortable bathing with tap water, she said.
“They have only evacuated a kilometer and a half of that space (from the derailment), and that seems crazy to me,” he lamented, coughing throughout the conversation. “I am concerned about the long-term health consequences. It is a disaster”.
Dangerous substances with side effects
At least 20 carriages of the train were carrying dangerous substances. Of those, half derailed, Norfolk Southern documents detail. Obtained by CBS News.
In all, 38 carriages skidded off the tracks and 12 others burned during a fire, an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed.
Besides of vinyl chloride, the company said the cars were carrying other toxic materials, including butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene, and benzene residues..
Exposure to this last compound “could increase the risk of suffering leukemia and other diseases of the blood”, according to the National Cancer Institute.
This is one of the deadliest environmental emergencies in decades and no one is talking about it.”
Among various side effects, these substances can cause irritation to the respiratory system, skin and eyes, as well as dizziness and fainting.
“This is one of the deadliest environmental emergencies in decades and no one is talking about it”, Democratic Congresswoman Jamaal Bowman wrote on Twitter on Mondayrepresentative for New York.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican. assured on tuesday that the state was not aware that the train was carrying these substances and chemical compounds.
“We should know when there are trains moving hazardous substances through the state of Ohio,” he said. DeWine reiterated that analysis in the area of the accident shows “that the air remains almost the same as before the incident.”
After the controlled fires of the cars, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, for its acronym in English) warned of possible lingering odors, but clarified to area residents that products derived from vinyl chloride can emit odors at levels lower than what is considered dangerous.
Ohio authorities they reiterated to the residents this February 8 that they could return home after samples to measure air quality “revealed readings below detection levels for contaminants of concern.”
The EPA, which is overseeing the tests, explained: “Air monitoring since the fire was put out has not detected any level of concern in the community that can be attributed to the incident at this time.”
[Retiran del mercado millones de botes del limpiador multiusos Fabuloso por riesgo de contaminación con una bacteria]
However, the agency said Friday in a letter to Norfolk Southern that the chemicals transported on the train “continue to be released into the air, soil and surface waters.”
The EPA said that, as of Saturday afternoon, it had tested the air inside 210 homes and found no vinyl chloride. Another 218 homes had not yet been examined as of Sunday, he reported.
The Dangers of Exposure to Vinyl Chloride
The EPA classifies vinyl chloride as a carcinogen. Exposure to this substance may increase the risk of liver damage or liver cancer.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention According to the CDC, short-term exposure to high concentrations causes drowsiness, loss of coordination, disorientation, nausea, headache, burning, or tingling.
The East Palestine authorities scheduled an emergency meeting to respond to the concerns of the residents this Wednesday, February 15.
Andrew Whelton, a professor of environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University, explained that additional compounds may have been released after the railcars burned that the agency may not be testing for.
“When they burned the materials, they created other chemicals. The question is which ones,” he warned.
Whelton added that other chemicals on the train could also cause headaches, nausea, vomiting or skin irritation.
“Our eyes burned”
In Darlington (Pennsylvania), six kilometers from the accident, those responsible for the Kindred Spirits Rescue Ranch They evacuated 77 of their largest animals, including a yak (tartar ox) and a zebu, over two days.
“We could see the column of smoke go up and pass over us,” said the ranch’s founder, Lisa Marie Sopko. “Our eyes were burning and I could feel it on my face.”
[Unos 150 bomberos trabajan contrarreloj para sofocar un enorme incendio en una planta de residuos al sur de Florida]
Sopko asserted that she is concerned about the conditions of the environment. The ranch’s water is drawn from two of her own wells, but until experts can analyze them, her team is using one with a more sophisticated filtration system, she said.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) insisted that the risk to livestock remains low. “ODA has not received any official animal welfare report in relation to the incident,” it reiterated in a statement.
However, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) urged its members to Test your local well water as soon as possible.
“The biggest concern is going underground right now, to see what kind of exposure there has been to these chemicals,” said organization director Nick Kennedy.
[Descarrilamiento de 50 vagones de un tren deja un enorme incendio y personas evacuadas en un pueblo de Ohio]
“There is a certain level of frustration” among farmers, he added. “They want answers. Your source of livelihood may be in jeopardy”.
Laura Fauss, public information officer for the Columbiana County Health District, said the department began taking groundwater samples last week in coordination with the state Department of Health, state EPA and Norfolk Southern contractors.
The results haven’t come in yet, Fauss said, saying he didn’t know when they would arrive. They have not received reports of residents with abnormal symptoms, she added.
But Giannios insisted that she and other residents in the area have not received answers to their questions, so created a page on the social network Facebook so that people can keep in touch and air their concerns.