Report: Results of Inquiry into the East Palestine Derailment
September 25, 2023
Background
At approximately 8:55 p.m. EST on February 3, 2023, a freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, about a quarter mile west of the Ohio–Pennsylvania state line. The train company reported the incident to the National Response Center at 10:53 p.m. The EPA arrived on-site by 2 a.m. on February 4, 2023. Of the 150 railcars on the train, about 50 derailed. Twenty of the affected railcars contained hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, and isobutylene. Some railcars caught fire, and some spilled their loads into an adjacent ditch that eventually feeds into the Ohio River. To prevent a potential explosion, the train company performed a controlled burn of five rail cars containing vinyl chloride on February 6, 2023. As of August 2023, the EPA was still conducting its response activities at the East Palestine site and, according to EPA staff, was supporting its local and state partners that were leading the on-the-ground response efforts.
Report Materials
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