Crews remove contaminated soil and water in the massive clean-up effort at the derailment site. Photo by Ted Auch, FracTracker Alliance, 2023.
Family pets and wildlife fell ill or died. Toxins from the crash killed nearly 44,000 animals in local waterways and also spilled into the Ohio River, a source of drinking water throughout the region. As residents in and around East Palestine worry about their safety, experts fear that the full consequences of this environmental disaster may not appear for decades. The toxic chemicals and the toxic response People living and working near the derailment site have every reason to worry. Vinyl chloride is very toxic. Even at low levels, long-term exposure has been linked to cancer and health issues in nearly every major organ
system in the body. Moreover, burning vinyl chloride releases dioxins — a class of chemicals so dangerous that they have wiped out entire towns such as
high-profile being BP’s 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil spill. Norfolk Southern only tested within the one-mile evacuation zone even though people up to
15 miles away reported symptoms of exposure. They didn’t do the type of testing experts recommended to accu- rately assess for safety. Even worse, it was over a month after the vent and burn before they
The people living and working near the derailment site have every reason to worry. Vinyl chloride is very toxic.
Times Beach, Missouri and Love Canal, Niagara Falls. After the derailment, the Envi- ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Norfolk Southern to begin environmental testing. But their testing was flawed in many ways. They hired CTEH — a company notorious for downplaying public health dangers after disasters caused by corporations, the most
began testing for dioxins*.
Health and Environmental Fears - continue on Page 3 >
* Chemical analysis has shown distressing levels of dioxins in the soil at East Palestine. While these levels don’t meet federal minimums to legally require an EPA cleanup, they do exceed EPA’s minimum for cancer risk by several hundred times.
FOOD & WATER WATCH / ACTION — LIVABLE FUTURE NOW | 2
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