February 14th, Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine said cleanup is being urgently underway amid the incident Chemical tanker derailed in this state regarding 10 days ago is raising concerns regarding pollution.
A freight train operated by Norfolk Southern Railway Company derailed on the evening of February 3 (local time) while making a journey from Illinois to Pennsylvania.
The incident led to a large fire, causing a cloud of smoke to cover the town of East Palestine, Ohio, forcing local authorities to evacuation immediately thousands of people.
According to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), regarding 50 carriages derailed, of which 20 were carrying hazardous materials.
After railway technicians drained and destroyed toxic chemicals from five train cars affected by the incident, Governor DeWine said on February 8 that residents might return home.
[Mỹ sơ tán gần 2.000 người sau sự cố tàu chở hóa chất trật bánh]
Speaking at a press conference, Mr. DeWine said the pollution from this incident did not seriously affect the 5 million people who depend on the Ohio River for drinking water.
However, he and several Ohio health and environmental officials advised residents not to use household well water near the derailed area and to use bottled water.
Meanwhile, local residents are expressing concern regarding the health impacts, with some residents complaining of headaches.
One of the chemicals on board was vinyl chloride, which the US Environmental Protection Agency says is highly flammable and carcinogenic. When burned, the chemical breaks down into other toxic compounds including hydrogen chloride.
The leaked compounds can cause headaches, eye and nose irritation, even at levels considered safe, according to Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio State Department of Health. However, the results of the airborne samples did not indicate any health hazards.
Meanwhile, according to an official with the Ohio State Environmental Protection Agency, the cloud of pollutant smoke on the Ohio River is moving at 1.61km/h toward the Mississippi River, near Huntington, West Virginia. .
The official urged officials in cities located in the path of the smoke to be able to lock drinking water points when the smoke overflows.
Minh Chau (VNA/Vietnam+)
