What’s Going on East Palestine, Ohio?

The East Palestine Derailment
Friday night, February 3, on Norfolk Southern Railway’s Fort Wayne Line, the hot bearing detector at milepost 49.81 triggered an alarm on freight train 32N after recording a wheel bearing temperature 50°F past the critical threshold.  The crew stopped the 149-car train and reported a fire and suspected derailment to the Cleveland East dispatcher; some 50 cars had derailed near the town of East Palestine, Ohio. Eleven contained hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride and other petrochemicals, prompting first responders to begin evacuation for nearly 2,000 residents within a mile of the site as thick smoke filled the sky.  While the fire had been diminished by February 5, continued rising temperatures in one tank car alerted responders to an explosion risk due to the potential heat-releasing polymerization of the contained vinyl chloride. This led to plans for a controlled release and burn of the reactive carcinogen. The combustion of vinyl chloride produces hydrogen chloride (a corrosive gas and irritant to the eyes, skin, and respiratory system), carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (a neurotoxin and asphyxiator with significant exposure), and phosgene (notorious  for its use in chemical warfare). Regardless, the controlled release and burn began on February 6 in order to prevent the distribution of contaminated shrapnel in a decision between what Ohio’s governor described as “two bad options.” On February 8,  local government officials declared conditions safe enough for residents to return home, but advised homeowners to avoid well water. Meanwhile, the toxic plume from the derailment moved into the nearby Ohio River, raising concerns for other communities relying on the river water. But the Environmental Protection Agency suggested that the remaining volatile organic compounds had been diluted to nontoxic levels.

The Aftermath
Following the derailment, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources collected a sample of nearly 3,000 killed aquatic species, mostly minnows, and estimated a total aquatic life death toll over 40,000 in the impacted waterways. Aquatic species have returned to these waterways and are not believed to be currently at risk.
While municipal and private well samples do not exhibit harmful contaminant levels,  in an Ohio Department of Health survey, a majority of East Palestine residents reported symptoms including headaches, anxiety, and coughing. Some experts link these symptoms with psychosomatic effects of lingering chemical odors, but others highlight the challenges of determining a specific chemical culprit for the reported issues.

Beyond short term health effects, residents of a town where a similar spill occurred a decade ago warn of potential problems to come: in 2012, a train derailment in Paulsboro, New Jersey released vinyl chloride, and residents say they developed breathing problems years after the incident. Some East Palestine families have expressed interest in leaving over health concerns, but lower income families lack the means to do so, highlighting the importance of continued support for the community.

Currently, the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stationed medical professionals in East Palestine for public health assessments. Other organizations conducting investigations include the EPA, which has ordered Norfolk Southern to organize decontamination; and the National Transportation Safety Board and Department of Transportation, which have studied why the derailment occurred and how to improve rail safety.

Cleanup Challenges
As contaminated dirt and water from fire-fighting efforts are collected from the site, new complexities arise. The toxic materials are destined to disposal facilities licensed to process specific wastes, meaning waste must be properly labeled based on the exact contaminants. While shipments have already been made to sites in Texas, Michigan, and Ohio, the grand total quantity of hazardous waste from the derailment exceeds the capacity of these facilities. After the EPA identified an Indiana destination for the waste, the state’s governor expressed dissatisfaction with the plan and suggested the waste remain closer to its source.

Preventing Future Incidents: Working Conditions
In just over a month since the East Palestine derailment, two additional Norfolk Southern trains have derailed in Indiana and Ohio, neither of which involved toxic spillage. After the most recent incident on March 4, the railroad carrier announced plans to introduce safety practices including usage of distributive power on trains greater than 10,000 feet in length, which a rail union president questioned, pointing out that the train derailed in East Palestine already made use of distributive power. Shortly after the February 3 derailment, a union letter to the Federal Railroad Administration highlighted the surge of derailments following the adoption of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), which sought to cut costs at the expense of reduced safety, including by laying off employees. This follows the US Senate’s December failure to pass a bill that would guarantee railroad workers paid sick leave, a vote described by one locomotive engineer as “... a blatant endorsement of corporate America and the too big to fail corporations that are allowed to have free reign over the US economy.” In wake of the East Palestine incident, other railroad workers have expressed concern with the industry’s profit prioritization and shared how they have been encouraged to skip safety checks for improved efficiency. The impact of risky cost-cutting strategies is felt not by wealthy company heads and politicians, but rather the railroad workers and communities like East Palestine.

Preventing Future Incidents: Problematic Petrochemicals
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) constituted the major contaminants detected following the derailment. VOCs present in the derailed train include vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, isobutylene, ethylene glycol, and ethylhexyl acrylate; each of these is used in plastics production and can cause health issues in humans. These organics are derived from petroleum products. Petrochemical processing facilities produce significant pollution and elevate cancer risks for employees and local communities, leading to the nickname “Cancer Alley” for an industrial region of the Mississippi River. While plastics like PVC, the major application of vinyl chloride, have a wide range of important uses, the contamination resulting from the East Palestine incident provides an opportunity to consider alternatives to and lessen usage of such toxic materials. PVC pipes, for instance, can be substituted with copper, cast iron, or galvanized steel pipes. Certainly, total cessation of VOCs usage is not immediately possible, but the February 3 derailment reminds of risks associated with some plastics that may be often overlooked.

For now, East Palestine residents, while no longer in immediate danger, grapple with questions of the future. Has the town been given the opportunity to rebuild better than before? Have residents’ health been compromised? Will Norfolk Southern act to prevent future disasters?