NTSBGov via Reuters
Officials detonated several train cars filled with toxic gas Monday after a derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, causing an explosion that reached several hundred feet into the air and sent a plume of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said at least five of the cars were carrying vinyl chloride, a cancerous substance used in plastic production that, if inhaled, could cause internal burns to a person’s airway and lungs. Because of the risk that the gas was already leaking, Norfolk Southern Railroad made the decision to instigate a “controlled release” to burn off the deadly chemicals rather than wait for them to dissipate naturally.
Prior to the planned explosion, which took place around 3:30 p.m. local time, DeWine and the governor of neighboring Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, evacuated an area of two square miles along the states’ borders. It remains unclear when residents will be able to return to their homes.