{"id":116572,"date":"2023-03-23T11:10:49","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T15:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/?p=116572"},"modified":"2023-03-23T11:10:49","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T15:10:49","slug":"dioxins-exposure-ohio-train-derailment-leaves-water-bodies-filled-with-toxins-carcinogenic-chemicals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/dioxins-exposure-ohio-train-derailment-leaves-water-bodies-filled-with-toxins-carcinogenic-chemicals\/","title":{"rendered":"Dioxins Exposure: Ohio Train Derailment Leaves Water Bodies Filled With Toxins &#038; Carcinogenic Chemicals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By Samhar Almomani, Publishing Associate<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Researcher and Writer<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Save the Water\u2122 | March 23, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On February 3, 2023, residents of East Palestine, Ohio learned about a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/ohio-train-derailment-timeline.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Norfolk Southern train derailment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This tragedy worried members of the community because the train carried toxic chemicals, such as dioxins. Due to fears of an explosion, authorities decided to ignite a fire in what was called a \u201ccontrolled release.\u201d Although this alleviated concerns of an explosion, there were increasing concerns of the derailment possibly impacting people\u2019s health and the environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-64788674\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The derailment involved 38 cars, which included 11 carrying hazardous materials<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun the process of shipping solid and liquid wastes from the site to facilities specialized in storing these chemicals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> During this time, officials have told residents that air and water quality in the town haven\u2019t been impacted by the derailment. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/mar\/17\/norfolk-southern-derailment-east-palestine-ohio-carcinogenic-chemical-levels\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, new data from East Palestine shows that the soil in the town contains dioxin levels<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hundreds of times higher than the exposure limit that the EPA had found poses cancer risks.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">What Are Dioxins?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/dioxins-and-their-effects-on-human-health\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDioxins\u201d is a general term for chemically-related compounds that usually gather in the fatty tissue of animals.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Most human exposure (90%) comes from food, specifically meat and dairy products, as well as fish and shellfish. Dioxins are a major concern for environmentalists. They\u2019re <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-remain-prevalent-contentious\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">highly toxic and result in many harmful effects<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on people:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reproductive and developmental problems\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Damage to the immune system\u2019s responses<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interference with hormonal systems\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several types of cancer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Skin lesions and altered liver function\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dioxin exposure can be more harmful to certain groups of people, such as developing fetuses. Newborns that are still developing their organ systems can be especially vulnerable to some of the effects of dioxin. People who work in certain occupations, such as workers in the paper industry, may be more susceptible to exposure. This is because they would already have high levels of the toxin in their bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">Clean-up\u2019s Progress so Far<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/oh\/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-emergency-response\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EPA has stated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that they\u2019re \u201ccommitted to protecting the health and safety of the East Palestine, Ohio community.\u201d That being said, many people have expressed frustrations with the EPA\u2019s interventions. Even though the EPA has claimed that the levels of dioxin present are low, the agency\u2019s scientific research suggests that these levels are not safe. \u201cSo based on [the levels of dioxin], the concentrations are pretty concerning,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/mar\/17\/norfolk-southern-derailment-east-palestine-ohio-carcinogenic-chemical-levels\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said Carsten Prasse, an organic chemist at Johns Hopkins University and a scientific advisor for SimpleLab.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weirtondailytimes.com\/news\/local-news\/2023\/03\/dewine-frustrated-with-cleanup-pace\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has expressed frustration about the environmental disaster and slow pace of the cleanup<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Recent numbers show that 1,620 tons of waste have been removed the week of March 18, 2023. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, the EPA announced that 910 tons were removed the week before. A total of 6.7 million gallons of contaminated liquid were extracted from the water bodies since the derailment in February. Recent estimates show that 26,000 tons of toxic dirt remain near the site.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EPA recently announced that the cleanup will likely take another three months. This didn\u2019t help ease any anxieties. Many people are wondering if they may need to move out of town, fearing for their families\u2019 health. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/science\/what-we-know-about-the-chemicals-aboard-the-train-that-derailed-in-ohio\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even though residents were told early on that they can safely return to their homes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, people are finding it hard to trust officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">The Impact of the Dioxins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/science\/what-we-know-about-the-chemicals-aboard-the-train-that-derailed-in-ohio\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There have already been a few reports locally about residents experiencing headaches and eye irritation.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Animal deaths have also been observed in the area. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources have estimated that the derailment resulted in the deaths of 3,500 fish. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/angry-ohio-townspeople-seek-answers-trains-toxic-spill-2023-02-16\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There have also been reports of dead chicken as well as other wildlife<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gerlad Poje, a toxicologist and a former founding member of an independent federal agency, Chemical Safety Board, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/angry-ohio-townspeople-seek-answers-trains-toxic-spill-2023-02-16\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said that understanding the full impact of the derailment could take months or years<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> before the full extent of the damage is understood.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">The Future of East Palestine, Ohio\u2019s Water<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whatever the future holds for East Palestine, one thing is for sure: the tiny town has forever been changed. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/03\/03\/health\/ohio-derailment-one-month\/index.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For weeks, citizens of a once-quiet Ohio town have seen their streets become filled with large utility trucks used for cleaning environmental toxins<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The rivers in the town now house many hoses that run through the two creeks going through East Palestine. Only time will tell if the EPA\u2019s reports were right in saying that residents\u2019 health won\u2019t be affected. In contrast, the residents might find that their health has been affected by the train derailment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Samhar Almomani, Publishing Associate: Researcher and Writer at Save the Water\u2122 | March 23, 2023 On&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12901,"featured_media":116573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,65],"tags":[179,197,3546,3527],"yst_prominent_words":[2207,1847,622,770,732,2567,3130],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12901"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116572"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116579,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116572\/revisions\/116579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116572"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=116572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}