REALLY HARD. WHEN TRAIN 32 END DERAILED IN EAST PALESTINE. THE NTSB SAYS A TOTAL OF 38 RAIL CARS LEFT THE TRACKS. SEVERAL OF THEM CARRIED VINYL CHLORIDE, BUT IT WAS NOT THE ONLY TOXIC CHEMICAL ON BOARD. WE HAVE A VISUAL BREAKDOWN OF THE CHEMICALS AND THE MANY DIFFERENT DERAILED CARS ON OUR WEBSITE AND TAKEN. NOW PAUL VAN OSDOL EXPLORES HOW COMMON IT IS FOR TRAINS TO TRANSPORT TOXIC CHEMICALS ALONG TRACKS THAT RUN RIGHT THROUGH THE HEARTS OF NEIGHBORHOODS. THIS TRAIN IS CARRYING HAZARDOUS MATERIAL TANKERS ACROSS THE OHIO RIVER TOWARD PITTSBURGH’S NORTH SIDE. A CLOSE LOOK SHOWS 25 CARS HAVE THE SAME PLACARD. NUMBER 1075. THAT’S THE CODE FOR LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS. ONE OF THE MORE COMMON HAZARDOUS MATERIAL IS SHIPPED THROUGH WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA AT NORFOLK SOUTHERN’S CONWAY YARD ACROSS THE OHIO RIVER FROM ALIQUIPPA. WE SAW TANKERS OF VINYL CHLORIDE, THE SAME CHEMICAL THAT LEAKED, CAUGHT FIRE AND EXPLODED IN EAST PALESTINE. NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE VINYL CHLORIDE COMING THROUGH THE CITY, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS COMING THROUGH THE CITY THAT WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR. BEFORE WAS BACK AND CRUDE OIL WAS MY BIG THING. I WAS WORRIED ABOUT. AND NOW THERE’S A CHLORINE AND I TRACE AMMONIA. AND THERE’S A PLETHORA OF OTHER ONES THAT I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY ARE UNTIL WE GET ON SCENE. HE DOES NOT KNOW BECAUSE THE RAILROAD CODES ARE NOT REQUIRED TO REPORT WHICH HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS THEY ARE CARRYING. UNLESS THE TRAINS NEED SPECIFIC CRITERIA, THAT’S DUE TO A FEDERAL LAW THAT HAS COME UNDER ATTACK SINCE THE EAST PALESTINE DERAILMENT. THE FACT THAT THIS TRAIN DID NOT QUALIFY UNDER CURRENT LAW, REQUIRING THE RAILROAD COMPANY TO MAKE THAT NOTIFICATION IS JUST ABSURD. IT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO NO SENSE AT ALL. SO CHRONICLE SET OUT TO LEARN JUST WHICH HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ARE PASSING THROUGH WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA, AND WE FOUND A VARIETY OF TOXIC STUFF. ANHYDROUS AMMONIA. HAZARDOUS WASTE. ETHANOL. ISOPROPANOL ACETATE. MOLTEN PHENOL. HOT AMMONIUM NITRATE SOLUTION. AND PLENTY MORE. SOME OF THESE CHEMICALS ARE IN PRODUCTS THAT WE USE EVERY DAY. VINYL CHLORIDE IS TURNED INTO PVC PIPES. AMMONIUM NITRATE IS IN FERTILIZER. ALMOST AS MANY USES AS YOU COULD IMAGINE. CMU CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR NEIL DONAHUE SAYS THE SUBSTANCES ARE LABELED HAZARDOUS FOR A REASON. SOME OF THEM ARE EXPLOSIVE. SOME OF THEM ARE DIRECTLY TOXIC. IF YOU IF YOU BREATHE THEM AT HIGH CONCENTRATIONS, WHEN THE CHEMICALS ARE RELEASED INTO THE AIR OR WATER, HE SAYS, THEY CAN TURN INTO SOMETHING EVEN NASTIER. AFTER HEARING CONCERNS FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS, THE EPA IS NOW TRYING TO DETERMINE IF THE VINYL CHLORIDE THAT BURNED IN EAST PALESTINE MORPHED INTO CANCER, CAUSING DIOXINS. IT’S KIND OF THE UNINTENDED STUFF THAT THAT IS THE BIGGEST CONCERN. AND THOSE THINGS THAT CAN STAY IN THE SOIL AND AND REALLY CAUSE LONG TERM HARM FROM LONG TERM EXPOSURE. THAT’S THE THING THAT I WORRY ABOUT THE MOST. FIRST PROBLEM IS RAIL SAFETY ADVOCATE GLENN ALSO URGED OF PITTSBURGH’S NORTH SIDE WORRIES ABOUT TANK CARS CONTAINING CHEMICALS LIKE CHLORINE GAS. AND IF THAT CAR IS PUNCTURED, THAT CHLORINE GAS WILL COME OUT IN A HEAVIER THAN AIR CLOUD, WHICH WILL SUFFOCATE ANYBODY IN ITS PATH. IN 10 MINUTES. AND YOU CAN NOT EVACUATE PITTSBURGH IN 10 MINUTES. HE SAYS IT’S A PARTICULAR CONCERN IN PITTSBURGH, WHERE SOME TRAINS TRAVEL OVER 100 YEAR OLD WATER LINES. THE TOTAL VOLUME AND WEIGHT AND CONSTANT VIBRATION IN IS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. NO MORE STOCK BUYBACKS AT A SENATE HEARING, NORFOLK SOUTHERN CEO ALAN SHORE DEFENDED HIS COMPANY’S HAZMAT SAFETY RECORD. YOU’VE SEEN OVER TIME THE NUMBER OF DERAILMENT S HAZARDOUS MATERIAL RELEASES AND PERSONAL INJURIES AS THE CLIENT. THERE’S ALWAYS MORE THAT WE WILL DO. AND I COMMITTED TO HAVING THE BEST SAFETY CULTURE RAILROADS ARE PUSHING THE GOVERNMENT TO ALLOW SHIPMENTS OF AN EVEN MORE DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS. NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH WHAT WE SHOWED YOU CROSSING THE OHIO RIVER INTO PITTSBURGH’S NORTH SIDE. THAT WAS LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM LIOM GAS, LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS OR LNG IS MUCH MORE VOLATILE AND DANGEROUS. 20 TO LNG RAIL CARS IS THE EQUIVALENT EXPLOSIVE FORCE OF THE HIROSHIMA ATOM BOMB. THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION APPROVED LNG BY RAIL, INCLUDING A RAIL LINE IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. BUT THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED THE SHIPMENTS. NO MATTER WHAT THE HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE CMU’S NEIL DONOHUE SAYS THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO HOLD RAILROADS TO THE HIGHEST SAFETY STANDARDS. YES, THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE’RE GOING TO WANT TO MOVE AROUND THAT ARE