Vinyl chloride exposure detected in 74% of urine samples taken after East Palestine derailment, researchers say
More than three years later, we're beginning to learn about the health impacts of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, with studies confirming people were in fact exposed to those toxic chemicals released into the air, water, and soil.
Misti Allison lived a mile away from the site when it happened in February 2023, and she still lives in the area. Already, she said people are feeling the long-term effects.
"We know that there are some people that are getting sick, and it's very scary," Allison said. "People in the community just want to know if their families are safe in the long term."
Researchers from the University of Kentucky and Wayne State just shared the outcomes of urine samples taken five months after the incident.
They found that 14 out of 19, or 74%, of samples from people living within a mile of the scene had detected levels of vinyl chloride exposure. More than 150 miles away in Marietta, Ohio, samples showed 0% detected levels, and for national samples from the CDC, it was only 5%.
For butyl acrylate, they had no national samples to compare to. It was detected in only one of the people from that East Palestine sample of 19, and no one in Marietta. However, because there are no standards for measurements, it's not clear whether it was from the derailment.
"If urine was collected and analyzed in the days following the derailment and the vent and burn, it is very rational to hypothesize to anticipate having much higher levels than we saw," said Dr. Erin Haynes, the chair of epidemiology and environmental health at the University of Kentucky who is leading the East Palestine Health Research Program.
She and her partners on this and the other derailment studies said these findings are important, knowing chemicals like vinyl chloride can impact the nervous and immune systems, and the liver.
"They metabolize very quickly, so we shouldn't have seen it if there was nothing in the air or nothing out there in the environment, but we did," Haynes said.
Next week the studies will increase as lab testing officially gets underway as a part of a larger long-term medical initiative launched earlier this year. They'll look at things like heart and lung functions in as many people who want to participate and who believe they were exposed to the hazards.
"We're not going to be able to get the support that we need long term moving forward if people don't sign up, if people don't participate, if people don't show what is going on with their bodies," Allison said.
You can learn more about eligibility and how to sign up online.
