The Ohio train disaster could happen in Philly and South Jersey

This month’s train disaster along the Pennsylvania border in East Palestine, Ohio, serves as a stark reminder about the dangers of shipping toxic materials through our neighborhoods and communities. After the train derailed, giant plumes of toxic black smoke rose into the sky, the product of a massive fireball from the accident. Hazardous chemicals — including vinyl chloride, a toxic, colorless gas that is associated with a higher risk of certain forms of cancer — were released in a “controlled explosion” after the crash. And residents living within a one-mile radius of the derailed train were forced to evacuate or face the threat of severe health risks, or even death.

What we witnessed in Ohio could certainly happen again. On average, there are more than 1,700 train derailments per year in the U.S. In Pennsylvania, over 3.9 million people live within a half-mile of a rail line.

This isn’t the first time a train derailment of toxic chemicals has endangered Pennsylvania residents. In 2017, nearly three dozen cars of a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in Hyndman, Pa., causing rail cars to burst into flame and igniting a residential garage, forcing an evacuation of the whole town.

There’s no way around it: The abundance of trains shipping toxic and hazardous substances across the country poses a serious threat to public safety and the environment.

Incredibly, these accidents may seem minor compared with what could happen if a new liquefied natural gas terminal is built — as planned — across the Delaware River in Gibbstown, N.J. If approved, this project would lead to trains carrying explosive gas through Philadelphia and its suburbs on a daily basis.

Shipping liquefied natural gas by rail is a new, reckless proposal by the gas industry that had been banned until the Trump administration gave it the green light three years ago. Fortunately, the Biden administration can do something about it.

The shipment of liquefied natural gas by rail is hazardous because the gas is so volatile. A single accident could result in highly flammable leaks, choking vapor clouds, explosions, and uncontrollable fires. Just 22 train cars of liquefied natural gas hold the equivalent energy of the Hiroshima bomb. Because train cars carrying the gas must be kept extremely cold and highly pressurized, a rupture can cause a deadly explosion. And once ignited, liquefied natural gas fires burn hotter and faster than fires caused by oil or gasoline, and they keep burning until all available gas is consumed. Local first responders are generally unable to extinguish these fires.

Aware of the severe dangers posed by the transport of liquefied natural gas, the U.S. Department of Transportation had generally banned it by rail except with special permits. But President Donald Trump broke with decades of bipartisan precedent and passed a broad authorization allowing explosive liquefied natural gas trains to proceed through communities across America. The Gibbstown terminal, one of the first terminals to be built since Trump made it easier to transport the gas by train, is an experiment that represents an immediate danger to communities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Shortly after being elected, the Biden administration moved to suspend the Trump rule that allowed the transport of liquefied natural gas by rail, yet unexplained delays by the Biden White House have allowed this dangerous activity to proceed.

Our members of Congress and local elected leaders must speak to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and call on the White House to stop liquefied natural gas by rail dead in its tracks. We cannot risk the lives of millions of people in our region for the gas industry’s profits. The Ohio train derailment should serve as a wake-up call for our nation’s leaders, and a call to action for all of us.

Take action to protect our communities from the dangers of toxic chemical transportation by reaching out to the Department of Transportation to ask it to reinstate the ban on liquefied natural gas by rail. The health and safety of our communities depend on it.

David Masur is the executive director of PennEnvironment. Kimberly Ong is senior director at Natural Resources Defense Council.