Chemical Health Risks from the Ohio Train Accident--What We Know So Far

About two weeks after a train carrying toxic and combustible materials derailed just outside a small town near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and filled the skies with black smoke, questions abound over the health and environmental impacts of the disaster. The February 3 derailment of the train, operated by Norfolk Southern, near East Palestine, Ohio, sparked a massive fire that sent fumes from several toxic chemicals into the air. To reduce the risk of an explosion, on February 6 officials released at least one chemical from five derailed tanker cars. (About...