Local experts say Franklin County and North Quabbin residents have little reason to worry that their area is vulnerable to the type of emergency a small Ohio village is experiencing after a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in early February.
Local railroad industry expert Alden Dreyer said locomotives going through New England are most likely hauling automobiles, garbage and propane, as opposed to the vinyl chloride — a toxic flammable gas used in the plastics industry — transported by the Norfolk Southern train cars that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3. Occasional derailments are inevitable, Dreyer added, but nothing as toxic as vinyl chloride travels local rails.
“It just wouldn’t happen,” Dreyer said.
The Ohio derailment has sparked concerns and criticism over how the situation has been handled. A dozen cars that didn’t derail were damaged by fires fueled by the ignition of 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report. By Feb. 8, firefighters had extinguished the blaze caused by the derailment and officials opted to release vinyl chloride from the derailed cars into a trench to burn it off in a “controlled explosion” after evacuating a 1-by-2-mile area. Burning vinyl chloride can cause the production of other toxic chemicals, including hydrogen chloride and phosgene.
Officials reported air quality was measured and deemed safe before allowing residents to return home but some have reported headaches, rashes and respiratory problems since the derailment.
Dreyer, who worked 20 years for the Boston & Maine Railroad and also as a train director in east Deerfield, said as far as the recent Ohio derailment goes there is no sign of negligence on the railroad’s part. He called it “a freak accident.” Dreyer has been fascinated by locomotives since he was 14 and is affiliated with the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society.
Even if vinyl chloride might not be traveling via local railways, fire chiefs from across Franklin County are no strangers to trail derailments — including some involving hazardous materials.
Philip Wonkka, who serves as Erving’s fire chief and co-chair of the Franklin County Regional Emergency Planning Committee, explained that in the event of a train derailment, local police and fire departments respond and reach out to county, state and federal officials if necessary. Containment and monitoring of a toxic spill would look similar to the way emergency personnel responded to a fuel truck rollover in Whately in 2018. The incident led to the closure of Interstate 91 and a precautionary evacuation of the elementary school.
“It wouldn’t be too much of a difference,” he said.
Wonkka recalled a derailment in Wendell when a train car ended up on its side. He said the state Department of Fire Services sent a hazardous materials team and the state Department of Environmental Protection also responded. Air quality was closely monitored and there was no chemical release from the train car.
Like Wonkka, Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan said an accident like the one in Ohio requires coordination between local, state and federal agencies to determine the extent of the emergency.
“We would bring in the resources that would be needed,” he said.
Strahan mentioned emergency services providers conduct extensive trainings for dangerous scenarios but said an incident like what happened in East Palestine would test any emergency agency.
Strahan recalled when his neighborhood was evacuated after a March 1985 derailment caused a massive fire near Country Club Road in Greenfield. The Associated Press reported at the time that 3,000 people were forced out of their homes after three Boston & Maine tank cars containing 30,000 gallons of alcohol derailed. The accident sent flames 250 feet into the air. A firefighter who overexerted himself was treated at a hospital and released.
The fire broke out about 75 yards from a railroad underpass under Interstate 91 and engulfed several acres of nearby woodland, with 30-foot trees blackened to the top, the AP reported. Officials said the alcohol flowed under the highway overpass and scorched the bridge but caused no structural damage. A 6-mile portion of the highway was closed for several hours.
In June 1999, a derailment in Charlemont dumped up to 10,000 gallons of liquid latex into the Deerfield River upstream, giving a milky green color to the water under the Bridge of Flowers and at the famous Glacial Potholes. The latex moved down the river as a single large mass, David Slowick, of MassDEP’s western office, told the Greenfield Recorder at the time. Less than 1% of the latex consisted of a toxic material called vinyl acetate, though some people reported seeing dead fish in the river days after the derailment caused by a damaged stretch of Boston & Maine Railroad track.
Although trains of varying lengths move through downtown on a regular basis, Athol Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera said a similar accident in the town is unlikely.
“What happened out there is a little bit different than what would happen around here,” he said. “I will tell you that the firefighters here have been trained as operational level first responders, which means they can identify and know what they need for equipment as far as hazardous materials. Actually, we’re going through the re-certification process right now.”
Local freight trains are operated by PanAm, which was recently purchased by rail giant CSX.
“The train industry is regulated very, very deeply … How often do you see train derailments when there’s trains running up and down the railways across the country daily?” Guarnera said. “They are regulated very well.
“When it comes to hazardous materials, the way the train is set up, they don’t put hazardous materials next to hazardous materials, especially ones that will interact with each other,” he continued. “It just so happens that out [in Ohio], where we just had that tragedy, the use of that particular railway is a lot different than what they use this railway for as far as commodities.”
Guarnera also said railroad companies are not required to give communities advance notice regarding what materials are moving through by rail, though at the end of the year they must inform local emergency planning committees.
CSX issued a statement to try to assure the public that its safety is the company’s highest priority.
“The transportation of all our freight, including hazardous materials, is done in accordance with strict federal regulations and it is important that we are able to operate safely to carry out our common carrier obligations,” the statement reads. “For security reasons, CSX does not disclose how and where it transports these materials to the public. CSX complies with federal law concerning rail security and emergency preparedness, working with Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC), county and state emergency management agencies to ensure they have a comprehensive list of hazardous commodities transported in their communities so that first responders are prepared in the extremely rare case that a hazmat incident should occur.
“We work closely with first responders across our network and regulatory agencies to ensure proper planning and safety protocols are followed to protect our communities, employees and customers,” the statement continues.
When asked if the company plans to alter or bolster its operations in response to the Ohio derailment, Cindy Schild, director of media relations and public affairs, said the CSX culture is rooted in the constant evaluation and strengthening of policies and practices.
“Each of our over 1,000 wayside detectors has been thoroughly inspected and calibrated. This work was completed and took about a week. They are normally inspected every two weeks,” Schild explained. “We will review the results from the National Transportation Safety Board investigation to better understand how to make the railroad safer as we continue to partner with those communities who trust us to operate safely and reliably.”
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120. Reach Greg Vine at gvineadn@gmail.com.