On February 3, 2023, a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, derailed and exploded in the village of East Palestine, Ohio, United States, a town of 4,800 residents near the Ohio–Pennsylvania border.
The derailed train was Norfolk Southern freight train 32N[2] and it composed of 141[3] loaded cars, nine empty cars, and three locomotives, from the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis yard in Madison, Illinois to Norfolk Southern's Conway Yard in Conway, Pennsylvania.
The derailment caused a fire which lasted for several days and was ultimately managed into a controlled burn, which released hydrogen chloride and the highly toxic phosgene into the air.
A massive emergency response by agencies from three states began and led to the mandatory evacuation of residents within a 1 mi (1.6 km) radius.
No deaths or injuries were reported.
