
(USNewsMag.com) – On Saturday, March 4, a train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed and crashed somewhere in the vicinity of Springfield, Ohio. According to the officials, the train wasn’t really transporting any hazardous cargo. People remained in their homes to take cover until they received word from officials to carry on as usual.
As a result of the accident, 28 train cars were thrown off the rails. The train belonged to the same firm as the one that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, a month earlier while transporting dangerous chemicals.
Hazmat crew is heading to site of what is being reported as a major train derailment in Springfield, Ohio. pic.twitter.com/jGq2h4YbGe
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 4, 2023
Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, said that the state’s EPA, Emergency Management Agency, and Highway Police were all on site Saturday evening to assist the first responders.
Several major power lines were brought down by the derailment, leading to a blackout. There were over 1,500 people whose electricity was cut off because of the accident, and as of Sunday, 49 of them were still without power.
The Springfield, OH, crash was approximately 300 miles from East Palestine, the location of the massive derailment where locals have become sick from toxic pollutants released last month due to another Norfolk Southern rail disaster.
Crews have reported that there were no spills as a result of the incident, and the Director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Anne Vogel, has stated that there had not been any release of dangerous chemicals or hazardous material into the air, ground, or water as a result of the incident. The investigation into what caused the crash is still ongoing.
Four tankers carrying non-hazardous compounds were found by Hazmat workers at the location of the incident. Two of the tankers included leftover levels of exhaust fluid from diesel, while the other two contained remnant levels of polyacrylamide, a water solution.
According to the county, it is typical for tankers containing residual levels of exhaust fluid from diesel fuel to be transported by rail. The two tankers in question were transporting this fluid. Since this region lacks a protected source of water, there was no danger of causing problems with the water systems.
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