![]() ![]() Health authorities are far more equipped to sample harmful chemicals in wells and streams compared to air, Farmer said, and tests so far have come back clean. ![]() There’s better, more reliable information for water. (The Environmental Protection Agency said it will release more, higher-quality data on air quality soon.) These are strange compounds that aren’t well tested, Farmer added. More concerning still, she said, is that scientists don’t really know what level of exposure is safe over the long term. This is a problem because even small amounts of some of these compounds could pose a threat to human health. They’re good at identifying, say, a leak at a factory or the presence of chemical weapons, Farmer said, not at detecting trace amounts of airborne chemicals. The challenge, however, is that many of the sensors used to measure air quality so far are not very sensitive, Farmer said. “Over the next few days, the outdoor air should clear out and the indoor air should improve,” she said. They’re not like “ forever chemicals,” or PFAS, that can stick around for decades. These chemicals also degrade in the environment, some in a matter of days, Farmer said. “The great thing about outdoor air is the atmosphere is very large,” Farmer said. Monitoring by health officials has not detected harmful levels of air pollutants from the wreck as of Friday, including vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride. The air in East Palestine today won’t land you in the ER, Farmer said. Why it’s still not clear whether the air and water are safe ![]() More importantly, these chemicals aren’t easy to measure. For one, it’s not clear how much of the chemicals actually spilled into the environment. Butyl acrylate, meanwhile, can cause a range of respiratory ailments.Ī number of residents reported headaches, respiratory problems, and dizziness in the days after the wreck, yet understanding the specific risks associated with this disaster is a challenge, Farmer said. What’s more is that when the gas is burned - as it was, producing the dramatic plume from the images - vinyl chloride releases hydrogen chloride and phosgene, two other harmful chemicals, as well as a number of other toxic combustion compounds. ![]() Exposure to vinyl chloride can cause a range of symptoms including headaches and, with high exposure, a rare form of liver cancer. Scientists know that these chemicals can harm humans and wildlife. National Transportation Safety Board via Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images A view from above of the train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio. Another contained butyl acrylate, a clear liquid used to make glue, paint, and other products. Five of the derailed cars, for example, carried vinyl chloride, a colorless gas that’s used to make PVC pipe. These aren’t natural substances like what you’d find at an oil spill but synthetic compounds made by the chemical industry, said Delphine Farmer, a chemist at Colorado State University. Eleven of them contained hazardous chemicals, some of which spilled onto the ground and into waterways or were burned off by authorities. While traveling east in Ohio not far from Pittsburgh, 38 cars in a freight train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed. The disaster in East Palestine, a town of roughly 4,700, was caused by a train wreck two weeks ago. So where does that leave residents of East Palestine? The dangerous chemicals that spilled from the train Plus, many of the sensors used to measure concentrations of them are not very sensitive, and even small quantities could harm people, experts say. That’s partly because these chemicals are unusual scientists don’t fully understand what level of exposure to vinyl chloride and other compounds spewed from the train is safe, or how they interact with each other. What is concerning is that the specific risks of the spill are unknown, including the long-term threat. There doesn’t seem to be much immediate danger. Some initial testing from the Environmental Protection Agency in East Palestine suggests that the air is safe to breathe and the municipal water is safe to drink. The East Palestine incident is not an environmental disaster on the scale of Chernobyl, the BP oil spill, or the lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan - events that had very clear and devastating impacts on human health and wildlife. Fire and smoke from a controlled detonation of vinyl chloride gas on February 6 in East Palestine, Ohio. To avert an explosion, authorities purposefully detonated a chemical called vinyl chloride, which caused the dark plume. The description of what happened isn’t much less worrying: A large train derailed that was carrying hazardous chemicals, and some of them leaked into the air, water, and soil. They show a giant tower of thick, black smoke rising from a train wreck and expanding into the horizon, as if a bomb went off. The images from East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month are frightening. ![]()
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