Questions swirl around U.S. hazmat train derailment

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The hazardous material train derailment that occurred in the northeastern U.S. state of Ohio earlier this month is continuing to raise questions and fuel public distrust of U.S. authorities.

A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, an Ohio village on the state's border with Pennsylvania, on the night of Feb. 3.

At a press conference Tuesday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said he was informed that the train was not considered a "high hazardous material train," and therefore, Ohio was not notified in advance that it was passing through.

"This is absurd, and we need to look at this," DeWine told reporters. "Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled."

"We should know when we have trains carrying hazardous materials that are going through the state of Ohio," he underlined.

In an update on Tuesday, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) wrote that 38 rail cars derailed, and a fire ensued, damaging an additional 12 cars. There were no reported fatalities or injuries.

A total of 20 hazardous material cars were in the train consist, 11 of which derailed, according to the NTSB. Five of the derailed hazmat cars carried vinyl chloride, a colorless gas that burns easily and is industrially produced for commercial use.

Fears of a possible explosion prompted the evacuation of hundreds of residents and a so-called controlled release and burning of the chemicals on Feb. 6, releasing toxic and potentially deadly fumes into the air.

Vinyl chloride exposure has been associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, as well as primary liver cancer, brain cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma and leukemia.

The controlled burn would also release phosgene and hydrogen chloride, the former of which is a highly toxic gas that can cause vomiting and breathing trouble and was used as a weapon in World War I.

DeWine said on Tuesday that members of the Ohio National Guard were sent into the area in protective suits to measure the air following the "controlled release" of chemicals.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it has tested indoor air at 396 homes in East Palestine as of Monday, with 100 homes remaining and 65 homes scheduled for Tuesday.

EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore said in a statement on Tuesday that no detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride were identified, adding that they "are continuing to conduct 24/7 air-monitoring."

Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said that the department has observed approximately 3,500 dead fish of 12 different species following the chemicals spilling into local waterways.

"Don't tell me it's safe. Something is going on if the fish are floating in the creek," Cathey Reese, who lives in Negley, Ohio, told an affiliate of NBC News last week. Reese said she saw dead fish in a stream that flows through her backyard.

Jenna Giannios of Boardman, a town near East Palestine, told NBC that she has been drinking bottled water and is uncomfortable bathing in water from the bathroom spigot.

"I'm concerned with the long-term health impact," Giannios said. "It's just a mess."

U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar tweeted Monday that "we need congressional inquiry and direct action" from the federal government to "address this tragedy."

"East Palestine railroad derailment will have a significant negative impact on the health and wellbeing of the residents for decades," Omar wrote, complaining that there is a lack of national media attention on the incident.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg failed to mention the derailment in a speech at the National Association of Counties Conference on Monday, sparking a wave of criticism.

"People are being poisoned because of a toxic train derailment in Ohio," American television personality Meghan McCain tweeted. "The Secretary of transportation has absolutely nothing to say about it!"

The NTSB, a U.S. government agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation, revealed on Tuesday that its investigators have identified and examined the rail car that initiated the derailment.

Surveillance video from a residence appeared to show a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure just before the derailment.

The wheelset from the suspected rail car has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination, while the suspected overheated wheel bearing has been collected and will be examined by NTSB engineers.

The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, a branch of the Department of Transportation, has been tracking train derailments since 1975, as well as injuries and fatalities during train crashes.

From 1990, the first year the statistics agency began tracking derailments and injuries each year, to 2021, there have been 54,539 accidents in which a train derailed, an average of 1,704 derailments per year.

On Monday morning, an 18-wheeler collided with a Union Pacific train near Houston, Texas, leaving the truck driver dead and derailing over a dozen train cars, according to police.

Fire officials said there is no active threat to the community stemming from the wreck.