No, ominous purple cloud and soot on cars in CT didn’t come from Ohio train derailment
In the aftermath of the Ohio freight train derailment — when 38 rail cars went off the tracks with several carrying hazardous chemicals — earlier this month, some social media posts purporting to be related have emerged.
The train derailment took place in East Palestine the evening of Feb. 3 and a fire burned for days, prompting environmental concerns as chemicals, specifically vinyl chloride, were released into the surrounding area.
Concerns about the industrial catastrophe have spread online, where some posts shared since Feb. 3 related to the incident are false, while others prompt questions.
Here’s the context on a video of a giant, ominous purple cloud, reports of soot covering cars in Connecticut and more.
Video showing massive purple cloud isn’t from Ohio train derailment
A few Twitter accounts have shared a video showing a massive, ominous purple cloud filling up the entire sky above what appears to be a town. Collectively, these posts have garnered hundreds of thousands of views.
“This is not UFO. This is Ohio’s Chernobyl,” one tweet reads.
Another post including the video says “the East Palestine region of Ohio, where an environmental disaster occurred, is becoming an ominous place.”
Though official photos of the derailment have shown thick clouds of black smoke coming from the fire and the derailed Norfolk and Southern freight train cars, this particular video isn’t related.
The video is from Portland, Oregon and was likely first shared in November 2022, according to The Associated Press. It’s potentially from a thunderstorm and experts didn’t consider it an unusual citing, according to the outlet.
The TikToker who posted the video, once in November and again in January, made another video addressing claims that it was related to the Ohio derailment.
“To everybody fighting in my comment section, it’s not that serious,” user @princess_cisneros said in a Feb. 6 post.
She said the video is several months old and was captured in Jantzen Beach, Portland.
The AP conducted a geolocation search confirming the video was filmed in the area of the North Tomahawk Island Drive at the Jantzen Beach Center shopping mall.
Reports of soot covering cars in Connecticut
On Feb. 17, social media from Connecticut mentioned soot coating on cars.
WFSB reporter Mark Zinni tweeted on Feb. 17 that several parked cars in Rocky Hill were “covered in soot or some kind of dirt.”
“I’m no meteorologist, but I worry whatever’s in the air in Ohio has made its way to New England,” SportsCenter anchor Randy Scott wrote on Twitter while showing a video of soot covering a car on Feb. 17.
In a follow up tweet, he wrote “every car in the lot looks like it has a peak pollen season residue on it” and said the air “smells strange.”
NASA scientist Ryan Stauffer, who studies air pollution, said on Twitter Feb 17. that the soot was no reason to worry and that it was the result of a storm transporting dust from Oklahoma.
The same day, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection said it’s aware of the reports of “‘sooty’ matter on parked cars.” Officials haven’t found a sole cause, according to a news release.
Officials said that the state’s air quality hasn’t been affected by the Ohio train derailment and the fire it caused.
“We have been tracking potential air quality impacts to Connecticut in light of the Feb. 3 Ohio train derailment and Feb. 6-8 controlled burn,” the release said. “DEEP has not seen any evidence of air quality impacts to Connecticut from this event, based on an analysis of forward wind trajectories from the site of the derailment.”
Video showing oily, slightly colorful water
One viral Twitter post, viewed millions of times, shows a video of a woman tossing a log into a creek with the water appearing oily as slight rainbow colors emerge on Feb. 16. The location of the post is East Palestine.
“Even MORE proof that the EPA is LYING to the people of East Palestine,” Twitter user Nick Sortor wrote. “THIS WATER IS INSANELY CONTAMINATED.”
“New video shows the water in East Palestine Ohio is badly contaminated,” another Twitter post sharing the video said on Feb. 16.
McClatchy News contacted the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio EPA for comment and more information regarding this video on Feb. 17.
EPA Ohio spokeswoman Heidi Griesmer told McClatchy News in a statement “that East Palestine’s municipal water comes from five wells, not a local stream.”
“The water is then treated before it goes to residents,” Griesmer said. “All tests done on the municipal water show that it is safe to drink.”
Ohio Governor Mark DeWine announced in a Feb. 15 news release that the Ohio EPA tested the water in East Palestine. As of Feb. 15, the test results didn’t show any contaminants in water from five wells that lead to East Palestine’s water system.
“Test results from the combined, treated water from all five wells also showed no detection of contaminants associated with the derailment,” the release said. “With these tests results, Ohio EPA is confident that the municipal water is safe to drink.”
Local residents are worried about potential health effects as a result of the train derailment.
DeWine said in a statement shared to Twitter that “the science says that East Palestine is safe,” but agreed residents “deserve answers” on Feb. 17.
This story was originally published February 18, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "No, ominous purple cloud and soot on cars in CT didn’t come from Ohio train derailment."
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