CLEVES, Ohio — A failed stabilizer is likely to blame after a rail car in the Cleves and Whitewater Township area began venting a hazardous chemical on Tuesday, prompting evacuations and the closure of roads and businesses amid safety concerns.
By Wednesday morning, officials with the Central Railroad of Indiana, which owns the train, said the train car had stopped venting styrene, but first responders were maintaining water on the car to keep it cool. If the car temperatures got too high, it could lead to an explosion, officials said.
Mike Miller, a spokesperson for Central Railroad of Indiana, said the styrene venting likely began because the additive stabilizer in the car became ineffective. However, the car transporting it operated as it should have, Miller said. The car is designed to vent the chemical when it overheats — as opposed to exploding — and it did just that, Miller said.
Miller did not elaborate on what the "additive stabilizer" is chemically made of, how it failed or what may have caused it to fail.
Miller said the styrene appears to be solidifying now, and train car temperatures are in a safer range, but officials are continuing to monitor it to be certain it won't heat back up.
While Central Railroad of Indiana owns the railway, it doesn't own the individual cars loaded onto the train. The train car that vented the styrene specifically belongs to a company called INEOS.
INEOS has a plant in Addyston, roughly four miles from where the chemical was released. Miller said he believed the train was on its way to a site "a few miles down the road" when the venting was reported, but Miller did not say exactly where it was headed.
The INEOS site in Addyston is "a polymer producer dating back to 1953 with Monsanto," according to the company's website. INEOS acquired the site in 2007, the website says.
Miller also did not say where the train began its journey, or how long the train car was venting styrene before the chemical leak was reported.
During a press conference held Wednesday at noon, dozens of residents showed up to ask officials about when they could return to their homes. Residents at the press conference told officials that people nearby claimed they'd begun smelling the chemical days ago — though the venting train car was reported at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
READ MORE:
FAQ: What to know if you're impacted by the evacuation in Cleves, Whitewater Twp.
Officials: Evacuation still in place, roads closed after styrene leak in Cleves, Whitewater Twp.
What is styrene? A look at the health, environmental impacts from chemical leaked from a train car near Cleves
Watch Live:
