The disaster happened on February 3 in East Palestine, a small town about 100 kilometers south of Lake Erie
The Canadian government says it is “highly unlikely” that the train accident in Ohio, which caused a big explosion and sent toxic chemicals into the air, had any effect on southern Ontario.
The accident happened on February 3 in East Palestine, a small town about 100 kilometers south of Lake Erie. Vinyl chloride was on the train when it got off track and blew up. A few days later, workers burned toxic chemicals in a controlled way to stop a bigger, more dangerous explosion.
The town of 5,000 people had to leave or risk breathing in the toxic phosgene in the plume, which causes people to throw up and have trouble breathing.
Residents have moved back in, but some are still not sure that officials are telling the truth when they say the air and water are safe. The Associated Press reported Friday that a nearby creek still smells like chemicals, and only one federal official has been there.
The Biden administration has defended its response by saying it has “mobilized a strong, multi-agency effort to help the people of East Palestine, Ohio.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada said that when chemicals are released in a controlled way, they usually stay in the air for less than 24 hours.
And since the winds were going in the opposite direction of southern Ontario and the Great Lakes, “it would have been very unlikely that the area would have felt anything,” said Angela Savard, a spokeswoman for Environment Canada.
The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), which is in charge of conservation areas in the Niagara Region, including those along the shore of Lake Erie, and the environmental group Environmental Defense have both said that they are looking to Canadian officials for help.
Environmental Defense spokeswoman Brittany Harris said, “We’ve been keeping an eye on the situation, and we don’t know of any proof that this is a threat to the Great Lakes basin or Ontario.”
The group wants better protections for Lake Erie and for the government and businesses to deal with the problem of agricultural runoff.
Misti Ferrusi, a spokesperson for the NPCA, said that the group would “proactively address” any problems that came up and, if they did, would let residents know about them.