In East Palestine, Ohio on February 4, 2023 there was a train passing by carrying toxic chemicals that ended up derailing and causing an explosion. 

There were twenty cars of which eleven derailed. The derailment caused a huge fire and an explosion threat. Due to the toxic chemicals that the train was carrying everyone had to evacuate the city immediately because their cars were filled with vinyl chloride which can cause cancer if exposed to it. The chemicals have been detected in the river that can be very dangerous for the town’s water supply.

“I would feel conflicted and very angry because it was completely preventable”, Chaffin Middle School student Zoey Johnson says. Many residents are furious about this incident. The city says that it is safe to stay at their houses, go out, and drink the water. Yet residents are continuing to get very sick. 

The company who owned the train did not speak about this incident for a while until one of the CEO’s was spotted in the city. Later a few other people came to the derailment location and told everyone that the derailment will be investigated further more. Norfolk Southern, which is the name of the company, said that they would be paying $6.5 million to the derailment victims. The only reason they are paying is because the options are that they pay for the damages or face very tough penalties.