Ohio Train Derailment Leads To Dead Animals And Contaminated Waterways

Thousands of animals have died after a train derailment in eastern Ohio released a large amount of hazardous substances into the area east of Palestine. Officials said Tuesday that 3,500 dead fish were reported in local waterways, including the Ohio River, in the days following the Feb. 3 incident.

During the incident, 38 cars, including several cars carrying hazardous materials , derailed, all of which pose a health hazard. On the day of the crash, there was evidence that one of the cars had leaked vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen linked to a rare and "extremely fatal" form of liver cancer.

Three days later, on February 6, crews monitored the release of toxic chemicals from the exploding train cars. Soon, a huge black cloud appeared over the earth, and people nearby could see and smell the damage of the event around them.

On the now-viral TikTok, a man points out a large number of dead fish in an eerily foggy creek 2 miles from the train wreck.

Thousands of dead animals

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz said Tuesday that 3,500 dead fish representing at least 12 different species have been found in local streams, tributaries and rivers.

"The good news is that none of these species are endangered, but it's still a loss for wildlife," he said. Among the dead fish species, he said, were river slime, speckled slime and rock rolls. The department is also monitoring the crash's impact on the state's largest amphibian species, the endangered Hellbender salamander. According to the ministry, the animals are "vulnerable due to poor water quality and excessive siltation of streams".

He added that most of the fish and aquatic animals mentioned in the assessment died in the first days after the derailment.

"Wildlife officials are working with contractors on the water every day to take net samples and do assessments," he said, "and we'll continue to monitor and track what's going on and who's likely responsible." due to the loss of wildlife in the area."

However, Merz said, "We have no evidence that non-aquatic species are affected by the derailment."

"Not only here, but we're talking to the Pennsylvania Gambling Commission and they haven't heard anything either," he said.

Jokes about sick animals

However, pet owners and caretakers say their animals are suffering and some are dying.

Taylor Holzer was caring for more than a dozen animals when the accident happened, and said some of her foxes now have "swollen faces and watery eyes." One of his foxes in the area of the evacuation zone died suddenly, unable to evacuate him. According to him, he discovered the evacuation order too late.

"He collapsed very quickly," Newsweek said, adding that the fox developed diarrhea and respiratory problems. "It fell apart very quickly and unexpectedly. Because he died in my arms, he neither blinked nor could function properly.

"Animals are going through a lot right now," Holzer says on TikTok. "They're scared and they don't understand what's going on... I'm doing everything I can to make sure they're safe and secure and able to cope without any added stress."

Andrea Belden says her 2-year-old cat, Leo, was euthanized after vinyl chloride from a train derailment in Ohio caused heart failure. / Photo: Andrea Belden/GoFundMe

Another woman, Andrea Belden, was living in eastern Palestine with her boyfriend, two cats and her grandparents at the time of the accident. Although they removed the animals when they declared the evacuation , one of their cats, Leo, 2, who had been "perfect" during a visit to the vet a few weeks ago, was seriously ill.

"His heart was racing, he wasn't moving, his breathing was very noisy and he was in pain," Belden said in a GoFundMe to help pay for the vet's emergency bills. "I thought he was just having a panic attack."

But it was more serious. The emergency vet told him he had congestive heart failure and he was hospitalized.

"They called me the next morning and told me that his heart was enlarged, he had fluid in his heart and lungs, his blood pressure was very low, and his liver enzymes were 6.9 percent. The normal level of liver enzymes in a cat is 1%.

The vet told her that her cat had a genetic heart condition "caused by vinyl chloride poisoning."

When Belden, whose vet bills quickly rose to $11,000, approached the railroad for financial help with a letter saying his heart failure was caused by chemicals on the train, he was told it was "it." that is, it is not urgent, because what will they pay now.

"They can pay this amount and sue me for damages in the future, but it will take weeks. At that time we couldn't afford to continue Leo's treatment and he didn't get better,” she said, “he suffers and eventually dies or is euthanized. We didn't want him to suffer, so we made the impossible decision to sleep."

He told CBS affiliate WKBN-TV that the railroad has since contacted him about the situation. CBS News has reached out to Norfolk Southern for comment on Belden's allegations.

State Health Department Director Bruce Vanderhoff said Tuesday when reporters were asked to tell jokes about animals sickened by chemicals used in the accident, "jokes are difficult because they're stories."

Although he has not studied the effects on animals, he said compounds spilled from the train, even in small amounts, can cause "very common" symptoms in humans.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture also said that they have not seen anything interesting in the agricultural animals.

polluted waterways

The derailed train directly affected local waters. According to the railroad's recovery plan, "resulting emissions have adversely impacted stormwater infrastructure and surface waters, including Sulfur Run and Leslie Run." In a video posted on the East Palestinian city's Facebook page, Leslie Run is filled with a glowing substance on February 13.

Merz said Tuesday that Sulfur Run was first affected by the waterway, with pollution seeping into Leslie Run, Bull Creek and part of North Fork Little Beaver Creek for about 7.5 miles.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday that Sulfur Run is still contaminated, although officials are "confident it has been contained."

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency department chief Tiffany Kavalek said Tuesday that data from the day after the accident showed "very low levels of contaminants and primarily residual chemicals." But data from just five days ago showed that butyl acrylate , a flammable liquid that can cause respiratory and skin problems, and ethylhexyl acrylate, a "possibly carcinogenic to humans" with the above symptoms, and liquid accumulation were at "low levels." in the lungs.

"At Lesley Run, just below Sulfur Run, butyl acrylate dissolves to undetectable levels when it reaches the north fork of Little Beaver Creek," he said. "And then the other one, ethylhexyl acrylate, dissolves to undetectable levels as soon as we get to Little Beaver Creek."

He said the Ohio EPA has yet to detect vinyl chloride in any of the deteriorating waterways.

But toxic chemicals have found their way into the Ohio River, one of the nation's largest rivers, which stretches nearly 1,000 miles and supplies drinking water to more than 5 million people and 25 million more. Ohio State. Nationwide population of the River Foundation - living in the Ohio River basin.

But Cavalets says the river is "very large" and "can dissolve pollutants quite quickly."

"The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and other state agencies are working with the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission to monitor the pollutant plume in real time," he said. "He's going a mile an hour."

Currently, they believe that most of the chemicals leach into the water and that the water is safe to drink after treatment. According to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's website, preliminary drinking water quality assessment results show "no evidence of risk to East Palestine public water consumers."

"We are very confident that these low levels will not be passed on to customers," he said.