Ohio Train Derailment: Disaster Strikes Close to Home

“One argues that the company ‘ignited a one million pound-plus chemical burn pit … dispersing toxic chemicals for miles and across state lines into Pennsylvania. ... There is a major problem with setting vinyl chloride on fire—it creates phosgene gas. Phosgene gas is a chemical warfare agent banned under the Geneva Conventions and was responsible for the deaths of about 85,000 people in World War I.’” Photo: David Anderson