Nobody should have to face a burning chemical train in their backyard. Tell the Biden administration: Keep our communities safe from dangerous, undisclosed chemical shipments. |
Friend,
A giant train full of chemicals is burning in Ohio, nearby residents are being evacuated ... and for days, first responders couldn't even be sure what dangerous toxins they were dealing with.
The growing practice of shipping dangerous chemicals, fossil fuels and other hazardous materials by rail -- all too often without informing communities what's being shipped through their backyards -- is too big of a risk for us to idly accept.
That's why we're calling on the Biden administration to crack down on these dangerous chemical trains, and to ensure that the public -- including first responders -- has a right to know what chemicals are being shipped through their communities.
On Friday night, a freight train with more than 100 cars derailed and caught fire in East Palestine, Ohio, just across the border from Pennsylvania. Two days later, it was still unclear what chemicals were burning, but we know that at least some of the cars were carrying carcinogenic vinyl chloride, as well as phosgene, which is used to make pesticides and plastic products.1
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says there's a risk of a "major explosion," and has ordered evacuations to keep thousands of nearby residents safe from shrapnel that could be blasted up to a mile from the burning train.2 Earlier today, two schools were dismissed to keep children out of harm's way.3
This derailment was in Ohio, but freight trains loaded with dangerous and undisclosed chemicals crisscross the entire country, with few or no rules to keep the communities that they pass through safe. Often railroads are the safest and cleanest way to transport goods -- but when they're carrying hazardous materials, we need to ensure that they aren't putting us at even greater risk.
Nobody should have to deal with an emergency like this, and it's inexcusable that days into the disaster neighbors and first responders couldn't even be sure what chemicals they're facing.
Thank you for taking action,
Faye Park
President
1. Andrea Salcedo and Justine McDaniel, "Potential for 'major explosion' from derailed train, Ohio governor says," The Washington Post, February 5, 2023.
2. Andrea Salcedo and Justine McDaniel, "Potential for 'major explosion' from derailed train, Ohio governor says," The Washington Post, February 5, 2023.
3. Megan Tomasic, "2 Beaver County school districts dismissing early over concerns about possible explosion from Ohio train derailment," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 6, 2023.
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