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(NewsNation) — A dangerous chemical leak rapidly spewing from a train tanker car has forced immediate emergency evacuations for residents in Cleves, Ohio, 16 miles west of Cincinnati.
The Hamilton County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency warned people in Cleves and Whitewater Township to “leave the area immediately” due to a “dangerous chemical leak” in an alert, adding that they have opened a public shelter for those fleeing.
Video acquired by NewsNation shows white fumes pumping out of a stalled tanker car.
Several fire trucks were seen in the area spraying water on a tanker car, according to WCPO. Aerial video showed firefighters spraying down a railcar sitting upright on tracks between the highway and an asphalt plant.
Cleves sits on the Ohio border with Indiana and has a population of about 3,000 people.
Tom Ciuba, a spokesman for the Central Railroad of Indiana, said it was notified around 1 p.m. about a railcar in the area of Cleves that was venting styrene, which is used to make plastic and rubber.
“Ohio EPA’s Emergency Response team arrived on scene in Cleves around 4:00 p.m., Tuesday. Our on-scene coordinator is there to assist the local fire department that is in charge of Incident Command Operations,” an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson said in a statement.
“The volume of styrene in the release is unknown at this time.”
Three nearby school buildings were evacuated, according to Lisa Whiteley, a spokesperson for the Three Rivers Local School District.
Styrene gas, a neurotoxin, can immobilize people within minutes of inhalation and can be fatal at high concentrations. Last year in the Indian city of Visakhapatnam, a leak of styrene gas from a chemical factory killed 12 people and sickened more than 1,000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.