() — Weeks after a major train derailment and controlled chemical explosion in East Palestine, Ohio, authorities have allowed residents to return to their homes. But many questions remain about how the train derailed and what the lingering chemical exposure in the air and water of residents might be.
Train derailments with toxic products do not happen very often, but they can have serious consequences for human and environmental health when they do occur. Here are some common questions, answered.
Why are hazardous materials transported on a train?
America’s railroads transport many chemicals. Freight trains moved 2.2 million wagons of chemicals in 2021, according to the Association of American Railroads.
This is largely because railroads are considered the safest mode of transportation for transporting large amounts of hazardous materials, including chemicals, over long distances across the country, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
The agency’s website says that rail accidents resulting in the release of hazardous materials caused just 14 deaths between 1994 and 2005, while 116 deaths resulted from hazardous materials spill after highway accidents in the same time period.
Still, because the trains are crossing state lines, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he was concerned about the lack of information individual states have about what the cars are carrying.
During a news conference Tuesday, DeWine said the Norfolk Southern train that derailed was not categorized as a highly hazardous materials train, meaning the railroad was not required to notify state officials about the chemicals it contained. the wagons.
“If this is true, and I’ve been told it’s true, this is absurd,” DeWine said. “We should know when we have trains carrying hazardous materials going through the state of Ohio.”
DeWine urged Congress to consider updating the train hazard codes so states have more information.
How often do these types of incidents occur?
Workers in a gondola look at derailed freight cars in August 2018 on Pittsburgh’s South Side. (Keith Srakocic/AP)
Rail has long been the default method of transporting hazardous materials in bulk.
“It’s the mode of transportation that’s capable of moving large quantities,” Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flatau told . “These goods cannot be moved by pipeline; the alternative is to transport them by truck on the roads, which is not seen with good eyes”.
Although federal and industry statistics show that rail is a safer way to transport hazardous materials than truck or plane, spills and leaks still happen.
USA Today looked at 10 years of federal rail incident reports and found more than 5,000 incidents of hazardous materials spills or leaks from trains that were in transit or stopped at rail yards. In 2022, rail companies reported 330 hazardous material spills or leaks, only six of which caused injuries.
However, the USA Today analysis found that other forms of transportation are much more prone to leaks: “For every rail leak reported last year, there were two on planes and 67 on highways.”
Federal Railroad Administration data provided to showed 149 incidents in which hazardous materials were released from moving trains over the past decade.
It is important to note that the federal data is being self-reported by the train companies, which makes it difficult to verify that all the information is accurate.
The biggest spills happen when trains derail. In 2018, a train of Norfolk Southern derailed in Pittsburgh, spilled a load of mouthwash and released “a strong odor,” according to a city news release. Concern also rose after the Trump administration allowed the railroad to transport natural gas highly explosive liquid, a rule the Biden administration stopped last year.
“The real issue is the risk of derailment and explosion,” said Kimberly Garrett, a researcher and PFAS expert at Northeastern University. “If natural gas had a derailment like vinyl chloride, it would be devastating.”
How do officials measure damage and impact?
Officials with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been conducting air, soil and water tests since the controlled explosion of the chemicals inside the railcars.
Until this Tuesday, the EPA reported that it had tested indoor air in 396 homes in the area, with 100 homes still to go. The agency has also screened the air for local schools and a library. He has also tested local waterways multiple times after a plume of contamination was released into them.
The EPA said Tuesday that chemicals were spilled in local waterways leading to the Ohio River, but much of it was contained. An initial plume of chemicals that spilled into the waterway had made its way into the Ohio River, but authorities said they exist in very low concentration and are working with water facilities on improved filtration so they don’t get to customers of water.
With that said, the EPA and Ohio state officials urged East Palestine residents to continue drinking bottled water for now.
While most of Tuesday’s press conference focused on volatile organic compounds (chemicals found in common household products), there are other types of chemicals released in the spill that aren’t as widespread. easily, according to Andrew Whelton, a Purdue University professor and expert on disasters, environmental chemistry and water quality.
Whelton told that the EPA should also continue to monitor semi-volatile organic compounds, which are more persistent and were detected in local waterways after the derailment.
“Because of their size, they don’t fly as easily,” Whelton said. “They like to stick to the dirt and other materials. The question is, how polluted is the creek and what will they do to remedy it?
If animals are dying, what does that mean for humans?
An aerial view of the train derailment in eastern Palestine on February 8. (Credit: mpi34/MediaPunch/IPX/AP)
The chemical spill caused serious damage to the local aquatic life: around 3,500 fish of 12 species died due to the contamination of the water carried by streams and rivers.
Anecdotal reports of pets and chickens dying have yet to be confirmed by officials. Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said Tuesday that there is no evidence that non-aquatic species were affected by the spill.
The volatile organic compounds released by the controlled explosion can cause symptoms including headache, sore throat and irritation of the nose and eyes, which some East Palestine residents have complained about. However, Ohio State Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said air quality does not appear to be behind the reported animal deaths near the derailment.
“Anecdotes are challenging because they are anecdotes,” Vanderhoff said. “Everything we’ve collected so far really points towards very low measurements, if they are at all.”
Vanderhoff repeatedly told residents in East Palestine to use bottled water until tests on their water source were complete. He said it’s especially important to use bottled water for people who are pregnant, nursing or preparing infant formula.
What does cleaning involve?
Workers put up barriers in a stream in East Palestine on February 9, 2023 as part of the cleanup process after the derailment. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
Ohio EPA and state officials have done several different things to try to contain contamination from the chemical spill. Crews placed oil containment booms in waterways and aerated contaminated soil and water.
Crews excavated and removed nearly 380 cubic meters of “vinyl chloride-impacted material,” including soil, according to Kurt Kollar, the on-site coordinator for Ohio EPA’s Office of Emergency Response. The EPA is also blocking off ditches around the contaminated land so it doesn’t contaminate the water further.
The EPA also said it has collected and stored nearly a million gallons of water in containers. Officials said the initial plume of contamination flowed into the Ohio River, but since that river is very large, “it’s a body of water that can dilute contaminants fairly quickly,” said Tiffany Kavalec, chief of the Water Division. Shallow in the Ohio EPA.
As for drinking water, Kavalec said that water treatment facilities should be able to remove any remaining low levels of volatile organic compounds in the water, and the water will ultimately be safe to drink.
What are the possible long-term impacts?
In addition to the chemicals that officials say should be broken down by aeration and water treatment, environmental officials must also perform tests for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)a long-lived and potentially more concerning class of chemicals used to put out chemical fires.
PFAS is typically found in nonstick pans and some firefighting foams. EPA officials said Tuesday that they had not yet tested the water for PFAS, but would begin work on it.
While other chemicals can break down on exposure to sunlight, air and water, “PFASs don’t break down naturally,” Garrett told . The chemicals have also been linked to higher levels of some types of cancer.
“PFAS migration downstream would be my biggest concern,” Garrett said.
