LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) The February 2023 train derailment and subsequent chemical fire in East Palestine, Ohio had far-reaching consequences, with a new study revealing that the released chemicals were carried across 16 U.S. states.
According to Guardian, analysis of rain and snow samples collected from northern Wisconsin to Maine to North Carolina in the weeks following the crash found the highest levels of pH and certain compounds recorded over the last decade, including chloride – a byproduct largely released during a controversial controlled burn of highly toxic vinyl chloride.
“We saw the chemical signal from this fire at a lot of sites and far away,” said David Gay, a University of Wisconsin researcher and lead author of the study. “There was more than we ever would have guessed.”
The Norfolk Southern train derailment and subsequent fire in the town of 4,700 prompted officials to conduct a controlled burn of the vinyl chloride, fearing a “major explosion.” This decision sent a towering plume of emissions into the atmosphere, where high-speed winds carried the pollutants across state lines.
Researchers found the highest concentrations of chloride and elevated pH levels in precipitation samples collected near the U.S.-Canada border and in northern Pennsylvania, just east of the wreck site. Though data from Canada was unavailable, the researchers believe the contamination likely extended into the neighboring country as well.
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While the inorganic compounds found, such as chloride, do not pose an immediate threat to human health or the environment, the study’s lead author noted that the levels were “very extreme for what we usually see.”
The study also highlights the potential presence of organic compounds, like dioxin or PFAS, which were likely emitted but not captured in the precipitation analysis, as the federal government does not routinely test for such substances.
Chloride, or chlorine, can be a potential health and environmental threat, Gay said, but the levels researchers found “wasn’t melting steel or eating paint off buildings”.
“But these concentrations were very extreme for what we usually see,” he added.
Researchers were surprised to find “exceptionally high” pH levels in the rain as far away as northern Maine.
Rain at a high enough pH can burn human skin and can harm flora and fauna, though Gay said the threat is minimal because it was a short-term spike.
He theorized the train’s cargo, which included medical cotton balls, frozen vegetables, and seminola likely contributed to the high pH because it released huge volumes of calcium, potassium and magnesium.
Meanwhile, firefighting foam that may have been used at the scene also could have contributed high calcium levels that pushed up pH.
Chloride and pH levels were highest in northern Pennsylvania just east of the wreck, and along the US-Canada border.
Though data for Canada was not available to researchers, Gay said he is certain its precipitation was also contaminated.
