East Palestine, Ohio, residents safe to return home, officials say: NPR

A man takes photos as a black plume rises over eastern Palestine, Ohio following a controlled detonation after a train derailment on Monday. On Wednesday, authorities said residents were allowed to return home.

Gene J. Puskar/AP

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Gene J. Puskar/AP

A man takes photos as a black plume rises over eastern Palestine, Ohio following a controlled detonation after a train derailment on Monday. On Wednesday, authorities said residents were allowed to return home.

Gene J. Puskar/AP

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – Evacuated residents can safely return to the Ohio village where crews burned toxic chemicals after a train derailed five days ago near the state line of Pennsylvania, East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick said Wednesday.

Authorities in eastern Palestine had warned that burning the vinyl chloride that was in five of the derailed tank cars would release hydrogen chloride and the poisonous gas phosgene into the air. They said Wednesday that subsequent atmospheric monitoring did not detect dangerous levels inside or outside the one-mile radius evacuation zone, which extended into Pennsylvania. Drabick said air and water samples taken Tuesday from the evacuation area show it is now safe and the evacuation order has been lifted. He thanked the state and federal authorities and agencies that assisted in the emergency response over the past few days.

James Justice of the US Environmental Protection Agency said 24-hour air monitoring showed normal levels and not of concern. Hundreds of data points from this “show that the air quality in the city is safe,” he said.

He reiterated that there was a robust air monitoring system in place and the data from it showed nothing at a level that would be of health concern. Monitors detected toxins in the air during the controlled burn at the derailment site, but no other samples outside of that area.

Many nearby residents left shortly after the derailment, and others were ordered out before the controlled release of the chemicals due to concerns about the serious health risks it posed.

The commander of the Ohio National Guard has previously said members wearing protective gear will take readings inside homes, basements and businesses as officials aim to ensure the safety of the air before lifting the evacuation order.

Some residents said they were afraid to return even though authorities say it’s OK to go home.

The fire from the chemical release no longer burns and crews have begun to remove some of the wreckage.

About 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a violent accident on Friday evening on the outskirts of eastern Palestine. Federal investigators say a mechanical problem with a rail car axle caused the derailment.

No injuries were reported from the derailment or the controlled release of chemicals on Monday, but some people complained of smelling chlorine and smoke in the air and having headaches.

Those just outside the evacuation zone in eastern Palestine and neighboring Beaver County, Pennsylvania were told to stay indoors as a precaution. Officials from neighboring counties said air samples showed no concerning levels of contaminants.

At least one complaint has been filed for the derailment. An eastern Palestinian business owner and two other residents sued the train operator in federal court on Tuesday, alleging Norfolk Southern’s negligence and exposure to toxic substances as a result. They are seeking to make it a class action lawsuit for residents and businesses in the evacuated area and people who have been physically injured from chemicals spilled at the site.

Norfolk Southern declined to comment on the lawsuit.