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(AP) ![\\"Jeff](\\" By Jeff Cercone February 18, 2023 # No evidence of foul play in Ohio train derailment, other incidents mentioned in a Facebook post #### If Your Time is short * The National Transportation Safety Board said there’s no evidence of foul play or sabotage in the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. * We found no evidence of sabotage in six other derailments this month or signs that they posed threats from hazardous materials. * A truck that spilled chemicals in Arizona was an accident, and there is no long-term threat from the spill, officials said. A fire that burned plastic planters in Florida is still being investigated, but fire officials said it’s likely a propane tank exploded. There were no hazardous materials released, officials said. See the sources for this fact-check The derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, combined with other accidents around the country, have some social media users claiming they are acts of ecological sabotage. On Feb. 3, dozens of cars on a Norfolk Southern Railway train derailed in a small town near Ohio’s northeast border with Pennsylvania. Fearful that five cars containing vinyl chloride would explode, officials decided to release and burn the chemical, sending plumes of black smoke into the air and leaving residents concerned about the long-term effects on their health. That wasn’t the only incident involving trains or toxic chemicals this month, but we found no evidence that any of them, including in East Palestine, were acts of sabotage. \"Seven ecological disasters in less than 2 weeks. The ramifications will impact Americans’ food, water and health for decades to come,\" read text in an image shared on Facebook Feb. 16. \"We are under attack.\" The image is a screenshot of a Feb. 16 tweet that cites five train derailments across the country, a truck spill (the post didn’t specify where, but it’s likely a reference to a recent incident in Tucson, Arizona) and a large fire burning plastic in Florida. The caption on the Facebook post added a sixth derailment, this one in Van Buren Township, Michigan. \"This is no coincidence,\" the caption read. A spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board told PolitiFact on Feb. 17 that there are no signs of sabotage or foul play in the Feb. 3 Ohio derailment. The exact cause is still being investigated, but the board said in a Feb. 14 update that investigators have identified the railcar that started the derailment. Video from a nearby residence showed \"what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,\" the update said. A preliminary report is due in two weeks, and a final report could take up to two years. Train derailments are not unusual. Federal data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Federal Railroad Administration shows an average of 1,705 train derailments per year from 1990 to 2021. There were six other derailments aside from in Ohio so far this month. Most were minor, and we’ve found no evidence that they were anything but accidents. Here’s what we know about those incidents: * Feb. 1: There were no injuries, leaks or spills after a late-night freight train derailment in southwest Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press. All of the train cars were empty and the cause is being investigated. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Jeffrey Barke stated on August 23, 2024 in an Instagram post Food and Drug Administration approval for updated COVID-19 vaccines requires a public health emergency declaration. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • August 27, 2024 * Feb. 1: A freight train went off the tracks in Talladega County, Alabama. One of the four cars that derailed was leaking limestone slurry, but officials said there was no danger or hazardous materials threat, according to NBC affiliate WVTM-TV. * Feb. 4: A commuter rail train with about 100 passengers on board came off the tracks near Philadelphia. No one was injured. Crews found and repaired a piece of broken track, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. * Feb. 13: There were no reported injuries, leaks or spills after a minor derailment in Enoree, South Carolina, the Post and Courier reported. * Feb. 13: Twenty-one cars of a Union Pacific Freight train derailed after a collision with an 18-wheel truck in Splendora, Texas, which is 38 miles north of Houston. About 100 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from the truck, and police said \"there were no major chemicals to be concerned about\" on the train — just household chemicals for retail purposes, according to Houston Public Media. * Feb. 16: Another Northfolk Southern Railway freight train derailed in Van Buren Township, Michigan, with about 30 cars going off the track, USA Today reported. No hazardous materials were released, township officials said. The cause is being investigated. ![](\\" Personnel work Feb. 14, 2023, to control the hazardous material leak on Interstate 10 near Tucson, Ariz., after a deadly crash caused a hazardous material leak and forced evacuations nearby. (Tucson Fire Department) As for the other two incidents referenced in the Facebook post, one was ruled accidental, and the other is under investigation but appears to be an accident: * Feb. 14: The truck spill referred to in the Facebook post is likely the one in Tucson, Arizona, where a truck overturned on Interstate 10, killing its driver and spilling liquid nitric acid. The spill prompted the temporary evacuation of nearby residents, The Associated Press reported. At a Feb. 16 news conference, officials said the driver in the single-vehicle crash appeared to drift into the median before his truck overturned. No future environmental impact is expected from the spill, officials said. * Feb. 16: A massive early morning fire broke out at a plant nursery supply company in Osceola County, Florida. Pallets of plastic pots caught fire, sending plumes of smoke into the air, the Orlando Sentinel reported. A county spokesperson told the Sentinel that there were no hazardous materials released. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation by the State Fire Marshal, the Osceola County Fire Rescue and Emergency Medical Services said in a Feb. 16 Facebook post. A fire rescue spokesperson told Orlando’s WFTV-TV that a propane tank likely exploded. We reached out to the state fire marshal and Osceola County Fire Rescue and Emergency Medical Services for comment, but didn’t immediately hear back. Our ruling A Facebook post said that the Ohio train derailment and six other \"ecological disasters\" show that the U.S. is \"under attack.\" The National Transportation Safety Board said foul play or sabotage is not suspected in the Ohio incident. Although a preliminary report has not been issued, officials believe an equipment failure was likely the cause. We found no evidence that any of the other incidents cited in the Facebook post were anything but accidents. None of them were serious enough to be considered \"ecological disasters.\" We rate the claim False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Facebook post, Feb. 16, 2023 Tweet, Feb. 16, 2023 Email exchange with National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson, Feb. 17, 2023 National Transportation Safety Board, \"NTSB Issues Investigative Update on Ohio Train Derailment,\" Feb. 14, 2023 National Transportation Safety Board, \"NTSB Media Brief 2: Norfolk Southern Freight Train Derailment,\" Feb. 5, 2023 Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Train fatalities, injuries, and accidents by type of accidents, accessed Feb. 14, 2023 USA Today, \"Norfolk Southern train derails in southeast Michigan; investigation ongoing,\" Feb. 16, 2023 Van Buren Township Public Safety, Facebook post, Feb. 16, 2023 Houston Public Media, \"Houston-area crash between truck, Union Pacific train kills driver, derails 20-plus rail cars,\" Feb. 13, 2023 Post and Courier, \"No injuries in minor train derailment in Spartanburg County,\" Feb. 13, 2023 WVTM-13, \"Neighborhood road closed due to train derailment in Talladega County,\" Feb. 1, 2023 Detroit Free Press, \"Detroit-Chicago Amtrak routes canceled through Friday after CN freight train derails,\" Feb. 1, 2023 Philadelphia Inquirer, \"SEPTA El train derailed in Old City,\" Feb. 5, 2023 USA Today, \"Truck spills hazardous material in Tucson, Arizona, shutting down highway,\" Feb. 15, 2023 Arizona Department of Public Safety, \"Tucson I-10 Hazardous Material Briefing,\" Feb. 16, 2023 Arizona Department of Public Safety, \"Collision and hazardous materials spill on Interstate 10 in Tucson,\" accessed Feb. 17, 2023 The Associated Press, \"Hazardous spill closes Tucson interstate, forces evacuation,\" Feb. 14, 2023 Newsweek, \"How Common Are Train Derailments? More Than 6 Have Crashed This Month,\" Feb. 16, 2023 WFTV-9, \"Thousands of plastic planters burn in massive blaze at Osceola County nursery supply company,\" Feb. 16, 2023 The Orlando Sentinel, \"Massive fire breaks out overnight at Osceola County nursery,\" Feb. 16, 2023 Osceola County Fire Rescue and EMS, Facebook post, Feb. 16, 2023 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Jeff Cercone slide 4 to 6 of 15 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 15, 2024 in a news conference: California law lets you “rob a store as long as it’s not more than $950” and “not get charged.” Kamala Harris “did that.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 19, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 13, 2024 in an Instagram post: Videos of media talking about Tim Walz as a \"happy warrior\" are proof of government propaganda legalized by Barack Obama. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on August 14, 2024 in a TikTok video: Video shows Boston Red Sox player Jarren Duran getting a “MASSIVE” ovation after his two-game suspension for homophobic slur. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • August 15, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 17, 2024 in an Instagram post: CDC warns a third of adults may die from dangerous bacteria in ramen noodles. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on September 9, 2024 in an X post: \"Dallas County Texas (tells) election workers to (illegally) lie on registration & use a church address to register homeless people to vote!” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 11, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 10, 2024 in at a Sept. 10 presidential debate: \"In Springfield (Ohio), they\'re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they\'re eating the cats. They\'re eating, they\'re eating the pets of the people that live there.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 11, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 6, 2024 in in social media posts: Haitian immigrants are eating pets and wildlife in Springfield, Ohio. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 9, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on August 25, 2024 in una publicación en X: Un video muestra un helicóptero distribuyendo “mosquitos genéticos en Massachusetts, Estados Unidos”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" logo-black-01/b6cedac93f6e57c68ecc025e5ec29d57.jpg\\") ![](\\" logo-black-01/438dbf066033f99de07598cbcc77ddcb.jpg\\") Threads posts stated on August 27, 2024 in a Threads post: Charlie Kirk X post about iPhone storage reveals his top app is Grindr. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 21, 2024 in publicaciones en redes sociales: Videos muestran a Kamala Harris ebria. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 25, 2024 in an Instagram post: Video shows helicopter “dropping millions” of mosquitoes in Massachusetts towns hit by eastern equine encephalitis virus. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jeffrey Barke stated on August 23, 2024 in an Instagram post: Food and Drug Administration approval for updated COVID-19 vaccines requires a public health emergency declaration. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 27, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 19, 2024 in in social media posts: Videos show Kamala Harris intoxicated. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 22, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 15, 2024 in a news conference: California law lets you “rob a store as long as it’s not more than $950” and “not get charged.” Kamala Harris “did that.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 19, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 13, 2024 in an Instagram post: Videos of media talking about Tim Walz as a \"happy warrior\" are proof of government propaganda legalized by Barack Obama. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 15, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on August 14, 2024 in a TikTok video: Video shows Boston Red Sox player Jarren Duran getting a “MASSIVE” ovation after his two-game suspension for homophobic slur. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • August 15, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 17, 2024 in an Instagram post: CDC warns a third of adults may die from dangerous bacteria in ramen noodles. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 ### No evidence of foul play in Ohio train derailment, other incidents mentioned in a Facebook post * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2024 in a post: Vice President Kamala Harris’ college professors disparaged her as their “worst student.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 17, 2024 in a post: Photo shows Kamala Harris posing beside Sean “Diddy” Combs. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 18, 2024 in Instagram posts: “BREAKING: Police found ‘explosives’ in car near former President Donald Trump’s rally site on Long Island.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Dave McCormick stated on September 13, 2024 in an X post: Charleroi, Pennsylvania, “has grown by 2,000% due to an influx in migrants.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: \"El gran respaldo de Taylor Swift\" a Kamala Harris \"le cuesta $125 millones en acuerdos de marca\". ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 16, 2024 in an Instagram post: Taylor Swift “lost 17 million followers by endorsing Kamala.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on September 13, 2024 in a post on X: Rep. Ruben Gallego’s “first act in Congress was to propose legislation to BAN the use of the term ‘illegal alien.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Mia Osmonbekov • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sherrod Brown stated on September 4, 2024 in a TV interview: Of Bernie Moreno, “Now, he’s arguing for a national abortion ban, no exceptions.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 16, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Country Music Television (CMT) has announced a permanent boycott of Taylor Swift.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 11, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Disney World officially moving to Nashville.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! 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Seven ecological disasters in less than 2 weeks We are under attack