Second train derails in Ohio – weeks after East Palestine disaster sparked health concerns

Another train has derailed in Ohio, this time in Delphos, a small city approximately 88 miles southwest of Toledo near the state's western border.

Law enforcement in Delphos was notified around 12:45am on Sunday that a train running through the centre of the city derailed near a grain elevator, according to Your Hometown Stations.

The train toppled a pair of electric poles and shut down several intersections after it jumped the track. There were no reports of injuries and it does not appear the train was carrying any hazardous substances.

The area was cleared by the Delphos Fire Department on Sunday afternoon.

The community of East Palestine, on the opposite side of the state from Delphos, is still dealing with its own locomotive-related disaster.

On 3 February a Norfolk Southern train derailed near the village of East Palestine. Fires threatened to ignite the vinyl chloride the train was carrying, prompting railroad and public safety officials to vent and burn the gas, causing widespread concern that the region had been doused with toxic chemicals.

Clean up continues in the village as residents report rashes, coughs, headaches and burning, itching eyes. EPA reports say the air and water, thus far, do not pose a long-term threat to residents, though many living in the area question the agency's assurances.

In addition to the train in Delphos, two other trains have derailed since the East Palestine disaster. Trains in Houston and Detroit both ran off their tracks in the last two weeks. The Houston derailment was caused by a truck crossing onto an unguarded track crossing just before the train arrived. The driver was killed and the train left the tracks, according to KHOU.

The train in Detroit was carrying hazardous chemicals, but there have been no reports of spillage during that derailment and no reports of injuries, according to USA Today.

According to Federal Railway Administration data analysed by The Hill, there were ten train derailments in 2022 involving trains carrying hazardous materials.

Norfolk Southern, which operated the trains in East Palestine and Detroit, has been under fire for lobbying against additional safety measures on trains put in place during the Obama administration. A regulation requiring a specific type of brake intended to mitigate rail accidents was rolled back in 2017 by the Trump administration.