www.washingtonexaminer.com by Conrad Hoyt
Residents of a small Ohio village are being urged to evacuate their homes as a massive train continues to burn days after its derailment and authorities work to prevent a massive explosion.
About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine at about 9 p.m. Friday. As the cars continue to burn Monday morning, officials said teams at the crash site are trying to prevent a “catastrophic tanker failure” and explosion that could shoot deadly shrapnel up to a mile away.
The train was carrying a variety of products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, rail operator Norfolk Southern said Saturday. Twenty of the more than 100 cars were carrying hazardous materials, defined as cargo that could pose any kind of danger, “including flammables, combustibles, or environmental risks,” according to Norfolk Southern.
Fourteen cars carrying vinyl chloride were involved in the derailment “and have been exposed to fire,” and at least one “is intermittently releasing the contents of the car through a pressure release device as designed,” Michael Graham, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Saturday.
