Residents of Ohio Town Urged to ‘Immediately Evacuate’ After Chemical Leak

A potentially hazardous chemical leak from a railcar prompted officials to issue an evacuation order on Tuesday for the residents of Grandview, Ohio, urging them to “immediately evacuate.”
The Hamilton County Emergency Management, which issued the evacuation on Tuesday, advised anyone living within a half-mile radius of the area near U.S. Route 50 and the Great Miami River just west of Cincinnati to evacuate immediately.
“Urgent Alert HC: IMMEDIATELY EVACUATE and leave area of US-50 and OH-128 in any direction due to chemical leak,” Hamilton County Emergency Management said in a Facebook post.
The evacuation comes after a dangerous chemical leak from a railcar occurred, leading authorities to initially advise residents to stay indoors with windows closed.
While the exact nature of the chemical involved or what triggered the leak remains unclear, footage from the scene revealed firefighters working to contain the situation, dousing a railcar sitting on tracks between a major highway and an asphalt plant. Authorities have since encouraged residents to follow updates from local media amid the evacuation.
Lisa Whiteley, spokesperson for the Three Rivers Local School District, confirmed that three nearby schools were evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Newsweek reached out to Hamilton County Emergency Management via email for comment.
In February 2023, a cargo train with around 150 cars derailed near the Ohio town of East Palestine. Twenty of those cars carried hazardous materials, prompting an evacuation.
The derailment caused a huge fire and, fearing a massive explosion that would release toxic gases and shrapnel into the surrounding area, emergency responders intentionally breached five cars to let out the chemicals inside.
The chemicals were diverted into a trench and burned off. Officials warned that this would release toxic gases phosgene—used during World War I—and hydrogen chloride into the atmosphere.
Environmental regulators monitored the air and drinking water around the derailment site and said the spill did not affect either.
Residents of East Palestine were then allowed to return to their homes after chemicals observed in the atmosphere following the controlled release were found to be at safe levels. However, some have complained of headaches and nausea, and pets died in suspected cases of chemical exposure.
Meanwhile, another explosion in an Ohio neighborhood in June left five people hospitalized after a homeowner who was mixing pool chemicals caused the explosion.
The Eastlake Fire Department responded to a report of a chlorine explosion inside a home just before 6:15 p.m. When officials arrived, they found “a large crowd outside of the home with a family member using a garden hose to spray down” anyone exposed to the chemical, according to Fire Chief Theodore H. Whittington.
Officials determined that “a potential, violent chemical reaction” happened when the owner of the home was preparing to use chlorine in the family’s pool. The explosion created a “large release of chlorine gas” that impacted people inside the home.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.