Vinyl Chloride, a deadly chemical used to make PVC pipes and other plastics, has contaminated the Ohio River due to train derailment.
50 cars on the Norfolk Southern train, including 10 cars carrying thousands upon thousands of gallons of the deadly chemical, derailed in a fiery crash on Friday, February 3rd. Livestock and fish as far away as 100 miles away are dying, seemingly from the fallout of the chemical exposure.
The deadly chemical was slowly released into the air Monday from five of those cars before crews ignited it in a controlled environment in an attempt to get rid of the highly flammable, toxic chemicals which ended up creating a dark plume of smoke. Vinyl Chloride only gets more dangerous while it’s on fire.
Via @CBSNews:
“Officials warned the controlled burn would send phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air. Phosgene is a highly toxic, colorless gas with a strong odor that can cause vomiting and breathing trouble and was used as a weapon in World War I.
Phosgene is considered safe at 0.1 parts per million during an eight-hour exposure, or 0.2 ppm for a 15-minute exposure. The eight-hour exposure threshold would have to be even lower when measuring inside people’s homes, where residents often spend more than eight consecutive hours.
Hydrogen chloride is a colorless to yellowish gas with a strong odor and its primary effect on humans is skin, eye, nose and throat irritation. It is considered safe at 5 ppm for an eight-hour exposure.”
According to rail operator Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board, there were no casualties or injuries sustained in the incident. However, exposure to vinyl chloride is associated with increased risk of liver cancer and other cancers, according to the federal government’s National Cancer Institute.
Residents of the area are outraged and scared of the potential risks involved with them having such close exposure to vinyl chloride. Many were ordered to evacuate last Monday and have not yet been able to return to their homes. It is unclear when they’ll safely be able to do so.
