Chemicals From East Palestine Train Derailment Reached 16 States
The accident impacted around 14% of the U.S. (1.4 million square kilometers) and one-third of the population (110 million).
A research project conducted by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program found that the chemicals released during the East Palestine, OH, train derailment reached 16 states.
On 3 February 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailment occurred in East Palestine, Ohio. The accident and subsequent fire resulted in the emissions of large amounts of hazardous compounds to the ambient atmosphere over many days. We used precipitation chemistry measurements routinely collected by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) to estimate the spatial extent and chemical compounds deposited as a result of the accident. Our measurements revealed a large areal impact from the Midwest through the Northeast and likely Canada, and perhaps as far south as North Carolina (portions of 16 states, 1.4 million km2). Observations showed the expected high chloride concentrations, but also unexpectedly high pH (basic) and exceptionally elevated levels of base cations exceeding 99th percentiles versus the historic record. These results were consistent with the meteorological conditions and atmospheric trajectories, and were not due to highly-concentrated low volume precipitation samples or wildfires. The robust measurements of the NADP network clearly show that the impacts of the fire were larger in scale and scope than the initial predictions, and likely due to the uplift from the fire itself entraining pollutants into the atmosphere. A more detailed evaluation of the accident and resulting fire could further refine the full impact of the atmospheric concentrations, dry and wet deposition, and the more specific extent of the spatial impact.
The accident impacted around 14% of the U.S. (1.4 million square kilometers) and one-third of the population (110 million).
“It was just a surprise to me, how far away it went,” stated David Gay, coordinator of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program.
Gay’s program has 290 sites in North America. Each collects “rain and snow samples before they hit the ground and then preserves them for analysis.”
“At this level of certainty, 19 sites had at least one chemical compound in the 99th percentile, while 8 sites had 4 or more compounds in the 99th percentile,” according to the findings.
Gay said the highest concentrations appeared the week of the accident, tapered the week after, and pretty much disappeared by the third week.
Gay thought the statistics would show “elevated levels of hydrogen in the atmosphere.” It did not:
Gay also expected to see elevated levels of hydrogen in the atmosphere, but just the opposite occurred. He believes the combustion of other train contents, including wheat, cotton balls and frozen vegetables, caused the release of alkaline metals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium and sodium, which then absorbed much of the acidic hydrogen during interactions in the atmosphere.
Thankfully, Gay does not think the spread “had much of a health impact on humans or the environment.”
However, people reported medical problems as long as two months after the derailment.
“A lot of it is stomach pain, constant stomach pain. It feels like stabbing in my stomach,” said Courtney Miller, a resident. “I’ve had a shortness of breath, I’ve tried to go to the hospital a few times because of it, and they’re telling me that I don’t meet criteria.”
One doctor encouraged people to document their symptoms because the chemicals could affect them in the future:
Some even complain they start feeling better when they leave their homes for a while, only to feel worse once they return.
“This could be a lot of things, but if you’re leaving your house and [symptoms] improve, and you go back and it comes back, I’m not thinking that’s allergies or not thinking it’s a cold,” said Deb Weese with QUICKmed. “I think it’s related to that stuff you’re inhaling there.”
Weese says the burning sensation when breathing could be what she calls a form of chemical bronchitis. She urges anyone suffering similar symptoms to seek treatment.
“Let’s face it: If it comes down to it, it might be something in the future that comes about from all these chemicals they’re breathing in that we don’t know about, so it’s important that they document all of their symptoms,” Weese said.
The EPA and DOJ settled with Norfolk Southern last month. Norfolk didn’t have to admit liability.
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Comments
Did they settle with the people who live there?
We need to know who decided to burn those chemicals off, and rather or not the railroad campaigned for that. This was incredibly stupid.
The NTSB is scheduled to release the final report in the next 7 days, the NTSB has already admitted that the burn was a mistake. They claimed in March that the decision makers were not given all the available information before ordering the burn.
Probably rogue agents from Cleveland were responsible.
What are the sources for their report?
I’m always suspicious of the completeness and integration of the history of any ad hoc exercise. For example, the current congress is going direct to agencies to secure info supplied to the J6 committee. (There’s near no Screaming Ds declaring the records are complete.)
There was a project around 2010 to build a drop-in consolidated response info system, sort of KMS, forums, plug-in communications, integration with agency operations, and some databases. Someone noticed how many emergency responses involved spinning up a group on some chunk of social media, because there was nothing better. Thought to look at the event response infrastructure as its own thing, n build for that use.
Last I knew, the project dissolved within the containing U. These things do pop up other places sometimes, so something similar could be going on elsewhere.
This seems like it would be nice to have. The info support I’ve seen for emergencies has all the capability of the first pass rolling out Obamacare “marketplaces.”
Accountability for bureaucrats? Unlikely IMO unless you mean a couple of folks already vested in their pension will be allowed to resign. Whenever there is the threat of individual accountability the bureaucracy and its enablers always seem to point to ‘institutional errors’ ….but these folks never follow their own logic.
If the ‘institution’ itself is to blame collectively then shut down the institution, fire all the bureaucracy, revoke their pension eligibility, give them the ‘mark of Cain’ on some public database to preclude federal tax $ going to any employer which hires them. Do that and I wager the bureaucracy will begin to respond to the incentives to do better.
pampered pete dont know whatch talkn bout willis
It’s got a long way to go to catch up to illegal immigration.
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