Why did they burn the remains of the derailed train?

On Feb. 6, officials authorized a “controlled release” and burn-off of hazardous chemicals from derailed train cars to avoid what they said could be a potential catastrophic explosion. Sign up for the Climate Coach newsletter and get advice for life on our changing planet, in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.



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“The decision was made to go ahead and allow that process to happen, to prevent that catastrophic failure of the railroad car, Drabick said. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has been called before both Ohio lawmakers and members of Congress, and he apologized for the derailment.

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Debate over vinyl chloride has simmered for years, but gained a new urgency after the Feb. 3 derailment of a 50-car Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine. Three days later, emergency crews released toxic vinyl chloride from five tank cars and burned it to keep them from exploding.

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The 38 derailed train cars were carrying substances including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene — all materials that are widely considered to be toxic and that could have damaging effects to both humans and the environment.

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The initial fire started February 3 when a Norfolk Southern rail car carrying plastic pellets was heated by a hot axle, said Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board.

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On Friday, February 3, 2023, at approximately 9:30 p.m., a Norfolk Southern train had 53 cars derail in East Palestine, Ohio. The site of the derailment is less than one mile from the Pennsylvania border.

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A freight train derailed in Tennessee after colliding with a truck carrying a concrete beam as it was crossing the tracks, police said.

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What were the five chemicals the EPA found at the site? On Feb. 10, the EPA sent a letter to Norfolk Southern Railway Company reporting five toxic chemicals found in air, soil, or water surrounding the crash site. They are: vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol, isobutylene, and ethylhexyl acrylate.

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All train crashes are tragic, but the Malbone Street Wreck is commonly considered the worst train crash in American history. On November 1, 1918, a packed Brighton Beach-bound train was speeding through a tunnel under Brooklyn's Malbone Street.

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About 1,000 derailments occur every year across the United States, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). In 2022, there were 1,044 instances of trains coming off their tracks. Broken or defective railroads are one of the most common causes of derailments, according to the FRA.

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One way to prevent train derailments is making sure train wheels and bearings (the component that keeps wheels turning smoothly) don't overheat. Railroads do this by installing sensors along their tracks that assess the strength and health of wheels and bearings passing over them.

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When the train derailed two weeks ago, it sent things like butyl acrylate into the Ohio River. The chemical has a fruity smell and inhaling it can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

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The investigators' symptoms included sore throats, headaches, coughing and nausea – consistent with what some residents experienced after the February 3 train derailment that released a cocktail of hazardous chemicals into the air, water and soil.

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Equipment failures are increasingly responsible for derailments, and problems with equipment and train tracks accounted for nearly 60% of derailments nationwide last year. The number of derailments among major freight railroads has fallen sharply since 2000, data shows.

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