Derailed

A hazardous chemical accident takes place almost every day in the U.S. The worst in recent history occurred on Feb. 3, 2023, in East Palestine, a small Ohio town on the Pennsylvania border.

- Alejandro de la Garza

TRAINS BUILT EAST PALESTtine. Through the 19th and 20th centuries, the Ohio town grew up around the freight-rail tracks that carried goods, fuel, and chemicals between the industrial centers of the Midwest. But when that industrial system declined, East Palestine's community didn't fall apart. Young people stayed, had children, and sent them to local schools. New residents moved in and started small businesses. It wasn't paradise, but it was quiet and safe, the type of place where you knew your neighbors. For many of the population of 4,700, it was enough to fulfill the town motto: "The place you want to be."

Then, on a cold February night a year ago, 38 train cars derailed and burst into flames. Firefighters fought the blaze for hours before the local fire chief pulled them back because of concerns for their safety. Some of the tankers contained hazardous cargo such as butyl acrylate, a fluid used to make polymers. Many residents in town were evacuated. Believing that five tanker cars of vinyl chloride, which causes cancer in humans, were likely to explode, emergency-response contractors and local officials decided to burn off their contents. After the accident, the railroad company (Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assured residents that the town was safe. But in the weeks and months that followed, many residents of East Palestine fell ill.