Wednesday, December 15, 2021
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling hazardous chemicals and forcing a shelter-in-place and evacuation.
On this day in 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Several cars caught fire, and days later officials vented and burned vinyl chloride from damaged tankers to prevent an explosion, sending a black plume over the town. Residents within a mile were told to leave, and many nearby were told to shelter in place.
What made the event so unsettling was the uncertainty. People did not know whether their air, water, and soil were safe, and the answers arrived slowly and did not always agree. A chemical release is invisible in a way a fire is not, and the instinct to stay and watch is exactly the wrong one.
The lesson is that living near rail lines or industry means knowing the two commands cold: shelter in place, which means get inside and seal up, or evacuate, which means leave now. A packed go bag, a plan for pets, and a way to get alerts make the difference when a man made disaster gives you minutes rather than hours.
