On February 3, 2023, a 150-car freight train operated by Norfolk Southern was derailed outside of East Palestine, Ohio, a small village town of 5,000 residents. The derailment caused 38 cars to be thrown off the track by a broken axle; 20 of those cars were listed as containing hazardous materials. Evacuation orders were issued to all households within a two-mile radius. During the evacuation, emergency services breached five of the derailed cars in order to conduct a “controlled combustion” of around 250,000 gallons of liquid vinyl chloride, a hazardous material. Vinyl chloride was the most toxic of the chemicals being transported on the train, but there were other toxic chemicals released as well…
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Vinyl chloride
Vinyl chloride (vinyl chloride monomer, VCM) was the primary chemical of concern in the derailment. The precursor to polyvinyl chloride (PVC), one of the most ubiquitous plastics, vinyl chloride has been an important material throughout modern industrial history. Today, vinyl chloride (VCM) is primarily used in the production of PVC. As a polymer PVC, vinyl chloride is stable, easily stored and safe. But as a monomer, it is extremely toxic. Vinyl chloride is one of the class of industrial hazards known as VOCs.*
Vinyl chloride is broadly toxic to most parts of the human body. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies vinyl chloride as a Group 1 carcinogen, their highest ranking, due to the link with various cancers, including lymphomas and brain tumors. Exposure can induce chronic respiratory failure and is particularly toxic to the liver. Birth defects, miscarriage, chronic narcosis, cardiac irregularities, acute eye damage, and even localized frostbite have been linked to this chemical. Some residents near the derailment site have reported symptoms linked to vinyl chloride exposure, including prolonged nausea and headaches. However, such symptoms are consistent with low levels of exposure and are not necessarily indicative of exposure to quantities with long-term, life-threatening consequences.
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Butyl acrylate
Butyl acrylate is a key component in the production of automotive coatings, paints, plastics and resins. It is an irritant to the nose, throat and lungs, and people exposed to it can get headaches, dizziness, nausea or vomiting. On the whole, butyl acrylate is far less toxic than vinyl chloride, but repeated exposure can cause lung damage.
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Ethylhexyl acrylate
Another hazardous substance involved in the derailment that the local EPA has detected in the Ohio Basin is ethylhexyl acrylate, which is also an ingredient in modern paints and plastics. One of the breached cars contained this combustible liquid. Ethylhexyl acrylate is a skin, eye, and lung irritant for humans, but a safety report from a chemical manufacturer, Arkhema, describes the substance as “acutely toxic” to fish in large quantities.
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Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether
One of the derailed train cars is reported to have contained the chemical ethylene glycol monobutyl ether. This is a clear liquid chemical used in products like paint and varnish. Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether is highly combustible. According to the U.S. Institutes of Health, this chemical may have a deleterious effect on the central nervous system, blood, and liver.
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*According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are compounds that have a high vapor pressure and low water solubility. Many VOCs are human-made chemicals that are used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, and refrigerants. VOCs typically are industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene; fuel oxygenates, such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE); or by-products produced by chlorination in water treatment, such as chloroform. VOCs are often components of petroleum fuels, hydraulic fluids, paint thinners, and dry cleaning agents. VOCs are common ground-water contaminants.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.
Organic chemicals are widely used as ingredients in household products. Paints, varnishes, and wax all contain organic solvents, as do many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products. Fuels are made up of organic chemicals. All of these products can release organic compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.
EPA definition of VOCs: “Volatile organic compounds (VOC) means any compound of carbon, excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbides or carbonates, and ammonium carbonate, which participates in atmospheric photochemical reactions. This includes any such organic compound other than the following, which have been determined to have negligible photochemical reactivity: methane; ethane; …. etc. “
Source: EnviroTech
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UPDATES
Residents Near Train Derailment Diagnosed with Chemical-Exposure Bronchitis
Residents and workers near the site where a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed this month have been diagnosed with bronchitis and other conditions that medical professionals suspect are linked to chemical exposure…
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“Bronchitis is characterized by inflamed airways that often lead to coughing and wheezing. It is usually caused by a virus, but chemical bronchitis is caused by inhaling chemical irritants…Whenever you burn chlorinated compounds, you get really nasty materials that are capable of causing chemical bronchitis…the severity depends on the amount of chemicals inhaled and whether people have pre-existing conditions like asthma. Most people see their symptoms resolve within a few weeks to a couple months, and long-term effects are unlikely except in high-risk patients.”
-Dr. John Balmes, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and spokesman for the American Lung Association
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Apart from breathing issues, some local residents have reported headaches, nausea and rashes. These can be symptoms of chemical exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has sent a team to East Palestine to interview residents and investigate potential health issues. It is difficult for doctors to make direct links between these ailments and particular chemicals.” (Source: NBC News)
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Train Derailment Lawsuits Allege Negligence
Residents of East Palestine and nearby areas have filed at least nine lawsuits that allege negligence and carelessness caused by the train derailment and chemical spill. The claims seek class-action status with more than $5 million in damages, according to court records.
The suits also allege that Norfolk Southern burned the vinyl chloride and turned it into a toxic gas instead of disposing of it safely. Local residents have complained about headaches, coughing, difficulty breathing, nausea and skin irritation. Several of the chemicals released from the train derailment can cause short-term and long-term side effects ranging from headaches to cancer.
Some residents have also reported animals dying, including chickens, a cat and a fox. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said an estimated 3,500 fish died across 7.5 miles of streams. (Source: Consumer Notice)
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It has been a month now since a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed just outside East Palestine, Ohio. Following the derailment, residents of the community were evacuated and emergency services breached five of the derailed cars in order to conduct a “controlled combustion” of around 250,000 gallons of liquid vinyl chloride*, a hazardous material. Due to the damage that occurred during the derailment to rail cars containing toxic chemicals, coupled with the controlled combustion of vinyl chloride in several train cars, several toxic chemicals were released into the air and nearby waterways. Over the past several weeks, some residents of the community where the derailment took place have been diagnosed with chemical exposure bronchitis, among other ailments. There has also been a substantial outcry from researchers, environmental experts and other professionals for the U.S. federal government to conduct extensive testing of the air and groundwater in that region for toxic chemicals.
Now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced they have ordered rail company Norfolk Southern to test the area for dioxins, a dangerous and persistent class of pollutants created when plastic is burned**. Though EPA officials have said the previous monitoring for related chemicals around East Palestine suggests a “low probability” of dioxin contamination, they have ordered Norfolk Southern to test the area for dioxins due to concerns from the community. The EPA will oversee the testing and “direct the company to conduct immediate clean up if contaminants from the derailment are found at levels that jeopardize people’s health.”
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*Vinyl chloride (vinyl chloride monomer, VCM) was the primary chemical of concern in the derailment. The precursor to polyvinyl chloride (PVC), one of the most ubiquitous plastics, vinyl chloride has been an important material throughout modern industrial history. Today, vinyl chloride (VCM) is primarily used in the production of PVC. As a polymer PVC, vinyl chloride is stable, easily stored and safe. But as a monomer, it is extremely toxic. Vinyl chloride is one of the class of industrial hazards known as VOCs. (source)
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**Dioxins are produced when burning wood and fossil fuels (including coal), municipal waste, cigarettes, tires and plastics. Combustion releases chlorine stored in those substances, which reacts with other compounds to form dioxins. The pollutants are of particular concern when plastic is burned because chlorine is a key element of plastics, including PVC and vinyl chloride. Dioxins are linked to cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, and immune system damage. (source)
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Norfolk Southern Will Pay Residents To Relocate During Toxic Train Derailment Cleanup
According to the Environmental Protections Agency (EPA), Norfolk Southern agreed to pay for residents affected by an eastern Ohio train derailment to temporarily relocate while cleanup efforts continue. The order follows demandsfrom the community demanding that Norfolk Southern take responsibility for the derailment. River Valley Organizing, a community nonprofit, issued a list of five demands for the company and government officials, one of which included temporary relocation for residents who felt unsafe in the village.
EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to conduct all cleanup efforts associated with the derailment on Feb. 21. The efforts included identifying and cleaning contaminated water and soil, reimburse the EPA for cleaning costs, pay for the EPA’s work and participate in public meetings, according to the press release.
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Chemical Free Life 