A dangerous chemical leak in Ohio on Tuesday could ignite an explosion, officials warned.
A tanker train car began leaking styrene in the Cleves and Whitewater Township areas in the western suburbs of Cincinnati Tuesday afternoon. A crew responded and began spraying the tanker down with water. But by Tuesday evening, Little Miami Fire and Rescue Chief Mike Siefke said “there is “potential for an explosion” if the tanker heats up.
Emergency responders from Central Railroad of Indiana, hazmat crews and firefighters are trying to cool the car.
“I am more concerned knowing what we know now — I don’t have all the details, the experts are doing their tasks right now,” Siefke said.
Anyone within a half-mile radius of the leak should evacuate the area and others should remain inside, urged the Hamilton County’s Emergency Management Agency. A nearby Kroger grocery store closed and three schools were evacuated out of precaution.
No injuries have been reported.
Footage of the scene shows a white gas plume spewing into the air above the railcar. Styrene is a toxic, flammable and highly volatile liquid used in manufacturing plastic and rubber. People can be exposed to it by breathing in its vapor.
The derailment comes a year and a half after a train derailment caused a massive spill in East Palestine, Ohio in 2023.