The Butler County Board of Commissioners should be applauded for making it possible for the Butler County Hazardous Response Team 100 to respond to large-scale hazardous materials incidents in four surrounding counties.

This is a welcome, proactive step in dealing with the possibility of a dangerous hazmat situation developing in Clarion, Mercer, Lawrence and Venango counties.

Under the terms of the contracts approved by the commissioners, the Butler County hazmat team will only be called out for a true emergency, not, for instance, cleaning up a fuel spill in the aftermath of a traffic accident.

People may not realize the types and amounts of volatile chemicals traveling along Western Pennsylvania’s highways and railroads. The hazmat response team could be called out to deal with the spill or release of liquefied petroleum gas, propylene, sulfuric acid, refrigerated liquid argon, chlorine or carbon dioxide.

These are all dangerous substances that are used in a variety of industrial and manufacturing processes.

In a controlled setting, they are vital components. But released on a highway or railroad track because of an accident or derailment, they pose a threat to humans, animals and the environment.

The Feb. 3, 2023, derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing hydrogen chloride and phosgene from burning railcars into the air and surrounding ground is a good example of what could go terribly wrong.

The contracts approved by the Butler County commissioners provide that the four counties will pay $2,500 each and agree to reimburse the hazmat team for materials and time used to deal with an emergency situation.

Even better, this could only be the first step. The contracts will only be effective for one year because Butler County is in talks with the other counties about forming a regional hazmat response team.

A unified response is the best way to deal with a potential emergency that could affect us all.

— EF