Train carrying more than 30,000 gallons of propane fuel derails in Florida

A train carrying more than 30,000 gallons of propane fuel has derailed in Florida, sparking new environmental concerns just weeks after a toxic train overturned in Ohio.

Southern Manatee Fire Chief Robert Bounds said Tuesday afternoon that six Seminole Gulf Railroad cars veered off the tracks near a homeless encampment on the Sarasota-Manatee county line.

Five of the cars were carrying sheetrock, while the sixth was carrying propane. Another train car that did not overturn was also carrying propane at the time and jumped off the track during the partial derailment. FOX 13 reports.

So far there are no signs of leaking propane and no injuries have been reported. But evacuation orders may go into effect in the area as crews try to unload the fuel.

Hazmat teams are now monitoring the situation.

Authorities say five of the overturned train cars were carrying sheetrock and one was carrying propane fuel.

We have drones. We led the hazmat team for Manatee County and were airborne with our drone, which has thermal capabilities,” Bounds said.

“We were able to look at the tank and determine the levels in the tank from the outside, it will show different colors if there really is a leak.”

There are no leaks. There is no physical damage to the tank other than rolling over, but no significant damage,” he told FOX 13.

In order to clear the tracks, heavy machinery will now be brought into the area, authorities say. wfla they must divert about 30,000 gallons of propane from the tank car.

Evacuations can happen at that time, and Bounds said crews are already working to alert members of a nearby homeless encampment.

“With the help of our drone technology, we can fly down the river and look across the tracks and there is a homeless encampment,” he said. We are not sure how many people. We couldn’t visualize that from the air.

“We’re sending MSO and a few other teams there to board people and address potential danger, and we’ll also monitor them in case we have to evacuate.”

Part of the track near the Manatee County/Sarasota County line appeared to have broken up after

Authorities say the derailment occurred in an industrial area north of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport as the train was traveling south.

It started when a car derailed off the tracks, causing a domino effect that caused damage to some of the tracks.

It is not clear what led to the derailment.

Florida Department of Transportation and state rail officials were on their way to conduct an investigation Tuesday night when local officials said they were awaiting guidance from Seminole Gulf.

“We’re at an impasse right now,” Bounds said, according to the Bradenton Herald. “Until they get their teams here and make a game plan for how they want to approach this, there is no estimate for how long the scene will last.”

Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge added: ‘There has been a pretty significant derailment. It will be several days before the tracks are cleared.

Wade Lovett, 40, has suffered from breathing difficulties and his previously low voice now sounds high-pitched and screeching after a toxic train derailment in Ohio earlier this month. He has had to take sick leave of work as a result

The chemicals on board the train were vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, benzene residue, glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, and isobutylene.

The derailment comes as health officials begin traveling door-to-door to conduct health surveys of residents in East Palestine, Ohio, amid fears of an emerging public health crisis.

Officials had previously conducted a “controlled burn” of five train cars carrying vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen after the Norfolk Southern train derailment on February 3.

Since then, residents have been reporting strange symptoms.

Wade Lovett, 40, says he has developed a high-pitched Michael Jackson-like voice and shortness of breath since the chemical incident.

He told DailyMail.com today that the problem “keeps getting worse and worse”. Meanwhile, others have been coughing up gray mucus and reporting sunburn-like injuries, feared to be the result of chemical exposure.

A team of 19 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff will now ask residents to complete 30-minute surveys per an order from President Biden.

CDC representatives are expected to move to neighboring Pennsylvania this week and will also focus on first responders at the derailment site.

Authorities say air monitoring has not detected dangerous levels of fumes in communities where crews released and burned toxic chemicals from a derailed train.

A giant plume of smoke from the aftermath of the incident could be seen from miles away.

The symptoms have yet to be officially linked to the derailment, but the toxic chemicals released are known to cause a number of other effects, including cancer.

Chemical exposure can cause industrial or chemical bronchitis: inflammation of the airways in the lungs.

Symptoms include a cough that can last for weeks, coughing up mucus, chest pain, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

A high-pitched voice could occur along with wheezing, caused by air being forced through the inflamed airways.

The mucus is usually yellow-green or yellow-gray in color. Inhaled irritants mixed with the phlegm can cause it to turn gray or charcoal.

Continued exposure to the irritant can cause permanent lung damage, according to mount sinai.