Some residents of a small community in the Mississippi Delta say they fear their health might be at risk after a train derailed and spilled a hazardous chemical compound that burned for hours.
Part of a Canadian National Railway train went off the tracks Saturday in Glendora, about halfway between Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi. The derailment prompted a temporary evacuation of the village after a tank car containing benzene caught on fire.
Desiree Simmons and Diamond Hoskins said they were leaving work at an Emmett Till museum when they realized they had to take their families to safety. The derailment occurred nearby.
“We came out of the building, and all we heard was a ‘boom,’ and the ‘boom’ was a couple feet down from where we was, and all we saw was black smoke,” Simmons told Mississippi Today.
Benzene is used in several products, including detergents and plastics. Symptoms of benzene poisoning include drowsiness, fast or irregular heartbeat, tremors and headaches.
Local fire departments worked several hours to extinguish the flames, according to the Tallahatchie County newspaper, The Sun-Sentinel. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality built a berm around the tank car to contain the spillage and firefighting liquids.
Employees of the Department of Environmental Quality, the state Health Department, Canadian National Railway and the National Transportation Safety Board have been on-site in Glendora, a rural community of about 140 residents.
No buildings or homes were damaged, but the derailment damaged the main water line, which has since been repaired. Glendora was put under a boil water notice – a common practice after water lines break and temporarily lose pressure.
Simmons and Hoskins picked up their children and quickly left after the derailment. They and some other Glendora residents went to hotels in Cleveland, about 30 miles away, but the women said several people lacked transportation and could not evacuate.
Hoskins said people from CN gathered residents in Glendora on Monday and gave each family a $100 Walmart gift card.
Since returning home Tuesday, both Simmons and Hoskins say that they and their children experienced headaches, fatigue and other symptoms. Both said they plan to visit a doctor soon, and both are worried about their families’ health.
“We’re not using our water. Scared to use it,” Simmons said. “We’ll probably take a shower or something, but I haven’t even cooked because I’m scared of the water.”
Hoskins said there was too little communication from those responding to the derailment.
“How do we know that we haven’t been exposed?” Hoskins said. “How do we know? You’re not reassuring us, you’re not saying nothing to no one.”
Mayor Johnny B. Thomas said he believes the evacuation began too late and ended too soon, and the Glendora community isn’t involved enough in the response.
“They did not evacuate us in a timely manner and in an urgent manner as it should have been with this type of chemical exposure,” Thomas said.
In a statement to Mississippi Today, the Department of Environmental Quality said air monitoring began promptly after the incident.
“There have been no detectable levels of benzene found and air quality in the community remains at safe levels,” the department said. “Therefore, initial evacuation orders have been lifted.”
The department said air monitoring continues as a precaution.
“We will release any information where there is a threat to public health or the environment,” the department said.
The railroad company directed Mississippi Today to the National Transportation Safety Board for comment, and the board said it will release a preliminary report within 30 days.
