JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio was operated by Norfolk Southern.
It was carrying chemicals and materials with vinyl chloride, which is a toxic flammable gas and long-term exposure to vinyl chloride could cause serious health issues.
A woman on Jacksonville's Southside made a post on the Nextdoor app and said.
“Hi neighbors, am I the only one that’s worried of having Jacksonville water poison with the chemicals from Ohio? I am truly scared.”
THE QUESTION
Could Jacksonville’s water quality be affected by the hazardous chemicals from the train derailment in Ohio?
THE SOURCES
- The St. Johns Riverkeeper
- JEA
- CSX
- Association of American Railroads
THE ANSWER
False
No, Jacksonville’s water quality can not be affected by the hazardous chemicals from the train derailment in Ohio.
“It is isolated to that area. The good news is that this does not impact our water quality. The bad news is that it demonstrated how vulnerable our communities can be to this type of derailment," said Lisa Rinaman with the St. Johns Riverkeeper.
JEA spokesperson, Karen McAllister, shares some good insight for neighbors.
“In terms of whether residents here would be impacted by the toxic spill in Ohio," said McAllister. "It’s really not possible because the aquifer is located 800 to 1,000 feet below the land surface, and it’s highly protected from chemical contamination from a thick layer of clay."
An aquifer is a large natural underground water source.
On average, JEA performs around 49,700 water tests a year.
But some of you probably are wondering, with trains traveling over the St. Johns river should we worry of a dangerous chemical spill?
CSX sent a statement to the verify team and says in part,
"While no accident is acceptable, CSX has led the industry with the fewest Federal railroad alliance reportable train accidents and the lowest average Federal railroad alliance reportable injury rate since 2019."
Additional data from the association of American railroads report that 99.9% of all hazmat shipments reach their destination without incident, and over the last ten years, less than 1% of all train accidents have resulted in a hazmat release.
If anyone still has concerns about their tap water, you can request a free water quality test from JEA.
You can email them at waterquality@jea.com.