The Environmental Protection Agency notified Norfolk Southern of the Decay of a train carrying hazardous chemicals near East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month
Questions linger over the potential health and environmental impact of the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals near East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month.
Residents of East Palestine were later asked to evacuate out of precaution. There was a large cloud of black smoke after crews made a controlled release of hazardous chemicals.
After the order was lifted, there have been a number of reports of people getting sick, animals falling ill, and a strong odor in the town.
Some East Palestine residents have filed lawsuits against Norfolk Southern, saying it was negligent and demanded the company pay court-supervised medical screenings for serious illnesses that may be caused by exposure to those chemicals.
The EPA said Sunday it had not found any issues with the air quality in East Palestine.
The agency said that there was no vinylchloride or hydrogenchloride found in the 281 homes that were screened as of Monday. The voluntary indoor air screening program only has 181 homes left to evaluate.
Breathing or drinking vinyl chloride can cause a number of health risks including dizziness and headaches. People who breathe the chemical for a long time may experience problems with their livers.
When vinyl chloride is exposed in the environment, it breaks down from sunlight within a few days and changes into other chemicals such as formaldehyde. When it is spilled in a body of water, it’s not long before it leaves the surface water and goes into the air.
The EPA has been monitoring for several other hazardous chemicals, including phosgene and hydrogen chloride, which are released by burning vinyl chloride. Exposure to phosgene can cause eye irritation, dry burning throat and vomiting; while hydrogen chloride can irritate the skin, nose, eyes and throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The East Palestine incident as a reminder of what trains can do when they come by rails: Educational resources, public health, and chemical safety experts
“Now that we are entering into a longer term phase of this, people are going to be concerned about the long-term exposure that comes at lower levels,” said Karen Dannemiller, professor of environmental sciences at Ohio State University.
She recommends East Palestine residents take part in the at- home air screening because indoor spaces can be an important point of exposure.
Dannemiller recommends residents to wipe down surfaces, especially areas that collect dust, and wash items that absorb smells, such as bed sheets and curtains. She also advises vacuuming carefully in short bursts to try to prevent contaminants from moving into the air.
Some residents have complained of headaches and rashes, and have grown frustrated with the response from Norfolk Southern, public officials and the rail company.
While the EPA maintains that the air is safe and continues to do testing, “That doesn’t mean [the smells] can’t be nauseating or sickening, or be stressful because the reminders of the incident and the emotions” are tied to the smell, Brown said.
The incident in East Palestine is a stark reminder of what can go wrong when you live near railways, says a senior scientist from the natural resources defense council.
“Rail lines crisscrossing the country are carrying hazardous materials, including materials that are explosive, and including materials that will become airborne if they’re released,” Sass said.
But there are things that the industry, individuals and their communities can do to better protect themselves from potential hazards of similar chemical spills, Sass and other health and chemical safety experts told NPR.
Though the risk of a crash and hazardous spill is deemed high by chemical safety experts, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) says “more than 99.9% of all hazmat moved by rail reaches its destination without a release caused by a train accident.”
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the derailment in Ohio, doesn’t look into every derailment or other incident. The agency doesn’t keep a list of all the events that they didn’t investigate.
“It’s not like, [accidents are] impossible. These things do happen. And when you’re looking at these things happening near residential areas, you naturally as a community need to have emergency response plans in place,” she said.
“These efforts — coupled with ongoing investment, technology, employee training, improved operating practices and community outreach efforts — have lowered hazmat accident rates by 55% since 2012,” the organization claims.
To make sure there is a plan readily available if this is a concern in the community, it is recommended that you work with local governments. First responders, hospitals and train companies should know about this plan and there should be a way to alert the community quickly and efficiently and in multiple languages that are relevant for the population, she said.
What’s most important is that the community is given the most up-to-date information when these accidents involving hazardous chemicals happen, Sass said.
“First responders and local health departments, local environmental agencies, and physicians, health care workers — all of them need accurate, timely information” to be able to properly respond and keep each other safe, she said.
She also encourages checking frames around doors and windows and looking over furnace and air filters to be sure they are working effectively, “so that if you are indoors, you have the best possible environment regardless of what’s going on outside,” Prunicki said.
It’s good practice for people with chronic health issues to have medication on hand in case of an emergency. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also encourages having a “to go” bag ready for family members and pets if emergency strikes.
When a chemical emergency strikes, the CDC says communities will likely hear orders on what to do from emergency officials on the radio, TV and mobile news apps, or from text alerts via the emergency alert service.
The guide from the CDC is for when communities are told to shelter in-place. The agency encourages keeping up with the latest information from public safety officials.
“Staying put for chemical emergencies is different from shelter-in-place for severe weather or tornadoes or radiation or nuclear emergency. You should seal off your space from outside air as much as you can,” the CDC says.
The “safe room” is the place where family members can easily block out the outside air. All doors and windows, window air conditioners, exhaust fans, stove and dryer vents, and duct tape are targets to seal out chemical agents.
What to Do During Hazardous Chemical Spills? A New Report on the Cozza and Cozza Families, Ohio, NRDC, and Ideastream
The outlet reported, “Jamie Cozza and her family evacuated to a hotel and have not moved back to town. She said she’s glad she didn’t return after a toxicology report done at her house came back with bad news. She wanted to know more about her water and soil.
According to the NRDC, if you notice a chemical leak in your home, you should demand more testing on water and soil to be safe.
People who use private wells in some parts of Ohio have been told to only drink bottled water.
But Sass recommends going even further: “Don’t shower with the water” and don’t boil it either. Certain hazardous chemicals can be made volatile by heating water, and can be easily inhalable.
The outlet talked to a woman who evacuated but came back after the order was lifted. She’s regretting that decision.
“We all have red rashes, loose stool, very congested, eyes burning, everything smells,” Desanzo told Ideastream. “I’ve been having terrible headaches.”
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1157645660/what-to-do-during-hazardous-chemical-spills
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“If smells are terrible, regardless if someone’s saying it’s fine, use your own your own judgment and err on the side of caution,” she said. “If it is making me sick, I’m gonna get out of there.”