What chemicals were spilled in the Ohio derailment and how dangerous are they?

Ohio residents demand answers for chemical train leak 2:27

(CNN)

-- The 100-car freight train that derailed on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, was carrying hazardous materials including vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene and butyl acrylate, the agency said. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Five of the tankers from the derailed train were carrying liquid vinyl chloride, which is extremely combustible.

A controlled burn was done to mitigate the hazard and it worked.

Authorities assured residents that any immediate danger had passed when they lifted the evacuation order for East Palestine residents.

Real-time air readings, which use portable instruments to broadly detect classes of pollutants such as volatile organic compounds, showed that air quality near the site was within normal limits.

Up to this point, officials have been looking for big immediate threats: explosions or chemical levels that could make someone seriously ill.

But cleanup and monitoring of the site could take years, an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency official said.

• What happened in Ohio with the derailed train that spilled chemicals?  

Although the risk of explosion has passed, people living in eastern Palestine want to know about the chemical threats that could persist.

Fish and frogs have died in local streams.

People have reported dead chickens and shared photos of dead dogs and foxes on social media.

They say they smell chemical odors around the city.

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Top Chemicals Spilled in Ohio

When asked at a briefing about exactly what was spilled, Norfolk Southern representatives mentioned:

• butyl acrylate

• vinyl chloride

• a small amount of non-hazardous lubricating oil

What are they and what danger do chemical products represent?

is

a clear, colorless liquid with a strong, fruity odor that is used to make plastics and paints.

It can be inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin.

It irritates the eyes, skin and lungs and can cause difficulty breathing, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Repeated exposure may cause lung damage.

Although butyl acrylate mixes easily with water and moves quickly through the environment, it's not especially toxic to humans, said Richard Peltier, an associate professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

,

which is used to make PVC pipe, can cause dizziness, drowsiness, and headaches.

It has also been linked to an increased risk of liver, brain, lung, and blood cancers.

Vinyl chloride is very toxic and very persistent in the environment, and it can form some really terrible combustion byproducts, Peltier said.

A Norfolk Southern spokesperson acknowledged but did not respond to CNN's request for more information on the amount of these chemicals that were released into the soil and water.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says they're not sure yet either.

In East Palestine there is anger over the lack of responses from authorities 0:58

Contamination in soil and water

From the spilled materials, vinyl chloride gas that caught fire could break down into compounds including hydrogen chloride and phosgene, a chemical weapon used during World War I as an asphyxiant, according to the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. of US Diseases

Vinyl chloride, a volatile organic compound, or VOC, and the most toxic chemical involved in the derailment, is known to cause cancer, attack the liver and can also affect the brain, Maria Doa told CNN. of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Norfolk Southern is responsible for cleaning up the site, according to a Feb. 10 notice sent to the company by the federal EPA.

In a document sent to the EPA and recently released by the agency, a company hired by Norfolk Southern for cleanup efforts did not include soil removal among the activities completed.

Disposing of soil that has come in contact with hazardous chemicals is a key cleanup action at spill sites, experts say.

"Contaminated soil will continue to (shake up) contaminants, both in the air and in the surrounding soil," Richard Peltier, an environmental health scientist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, told CNN in an email.

"Every time it rains, an avalanche of new pollutants will enter the ecosystem."

The railroad reopened the track on February 8 after taking measures, including the controlled release of a toxic chemical from certain cars.

It is not yet known what significance or impact the soil that was not removed prior to the reopening of the railway may have on the surrounding areas.

Ohio EPA and state officials have done several different things to try to contain contamination from the chemical spill.

Crews placed oil containment booms in waterways and aerated contaminated soil and water.

Crews excavated and removed nearly 380 cubic meters of "vinyl chloride-impacted material," including soil, according to Kurt Kollar, the on-site coordinator for Ohio EPA's Office of Emergency Response.

The EPA is also blocking off ditches around the contaminated land so it doesn't contaminate the water further.

The EPA also said it has collected and stored nearly a million gallons of water in containers.

Officials said the initial plume of contamination flowed into the Ohio River, but since that river is very large, "it's a body of water that can dilute contaminants fairly quickly," said Tiffany Kavalec, chief of the Water Division. Shallow in the Ohio EPA.

As for drinking water, Kavalec said that water treatment facilities should be able to remove any remaining low levels of volatile organic compounds in the water, and the water will ultimately be safe to drink.

The other materials that would have long-term effects

In addition to the chemicals that officials say should be broken down by aeration and water treatment, environmental officials must also test for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), a long-lived and potentially more concerning class of chemicals than used to put out chemical fires.

PFAS is typically found in nonstick pans and some firefighting foams.

EPA officials said Tuesday that they had not yet tested the water for PFAS, but would begin work on it.

While other chemicals can break down on exposure to sunlight, air and water, "PFASs don't break down naturally," Northeastern University researcher and PFAS expert Kimberly Garrett told CNN.

The chemicals have also been linked to higher levels of some types of cancer.

“PFAS migration downstream would be my biggest concern,” Garrett said.

With information from CNN's Brenda Goodman, Kyla Russell, Christina Maxouris, Alisha Ebrahimji and Ella Nilsen

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