(The Associated Press circulated the following article on September 4.)
CINCINNATI, Ohio — A railroad company resumed offering settlements to residents displaced from their homes by a chemical scare, moving to a suburban hotel to avoid city officials.
The tanker that started leaking vapor from its load of styrene on Sunday also was hauled away Friday afternoon. Representatives of Houston-based Westlake Chemical and railroad officials inspected the car Thursday to clear it for the trip.
Mayor Charlie Luken ordered representatives of Railroad Risk Management, which was hired by Indiana & Ohio Railway, on Thursday to leave a neighborhood community center where nearly 100 residents waited in line to fill out applications and receive settlements as compensation for the evacuation.
Railroad Risk Management re- established claims processing at the Eastgate Holiday Inn. Larry Lovette, who is running the office, said the company would be in Cincinnati about three weeks.
Luken said he couldn’t allow the company to operate on city property because it gives the appearance that the city is endorsing the settlements.
People who sign the waiver get $100 for each person in the family who was evacuated. Displaced residents are eligible to be reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses without signing the waiver.
Residents within a mile of the tanker were ordered to leave their homes on Monday and were not allowed back until Wednesday.
Styrene, used to make plastics, synthetic rubber and resins, is a highly flammable liquid hazardous to breathe in gaseous form.
About 800 properties were affected by the evacuation order, and the closing of streets in the area of the tanker snarled traffic for commuters in the city’s eastern suburbs.
Luken said the city spent about $1 million responding to the leak, and he complained that representatives of the rail line and the chemical company refused to explain to him why a tanker loaded with styrene had been left on a railroad sidetrack unchecked.