What happened?

On Feb. 3, 50 train cars derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, causing a massive fire and releasing dangerous chemicals into the water and air. Precautionary measures were taken by evacuating residents of the town. Although the initial disaster was under control within a few days, the long term effects on the environment are predicted to last years. 

“A total of 38,222 minnows were potentially killed as a result of the derailment. It is estimated that a total of around 5,500 other species – small fish, crayfish, amphibians and macroinvertebrates, were also killed as a result of the derailment” said Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz.

Potential long term health drawbacks: 

Vinyl chloride is a chemical used in common plastic products like PVC pipes and wires. It is mostly kept in the form of a liquid, but in its gaseous state, exposure can be very easy due to the possibility of inhalation. It can cause mild health problems, like dizziness and headaches, as well as extreme health problems like serious liver damage. If the exposure is prolonged, then chances for cancer in the liver called angiosarcoma rises greatly. These problems become directly correlated to the issue of the train derailment that spilled vinyl chloride into the Ohio river, along with the controlled burning of the chemical by authorities to avoid an explosion. If residents of East Palestine continue to live in the area and use the contaminated Ohio river for water, they will be subjected to the listed health risks.

“Residues from burning vinyl chloride, like dioxin, and other leaked chemicals, like butyl acrylate, can haunt water supplies for years and spread through watersheds and underground aquifers that provide drinking water” said Umair Irfan, a climate change correspondent at Vox News. 

In the end, authorities would have to continue monitoring the area in the future to see what the long term effects are. Although the issue of air pollution is moderate at best, the Ohio River will remain a large problem as time goes on. It should be closely monitored as these chemicals can cause death to humans and wildlife alike if contact is prolonged.

How does this affect us?

In December of 2022, a commercial train carrying iron ore had derailed around half of his cars. Although iron ore is no where near as catastrophic as vinyl chloride, the railroad the train was on was a fairly significant one in California. Blockage for a few days could pose some effects.

In the last 2 years, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services stated that California has experienced around 334 train derailments in 2021. However, those who live in Los Alamitos and surrounding locations have little to worry about regarding an East Palestine level disaster. Long Beach is around the 9th largest port in the world. Its main exports is petroleum or electrical based products like computers or phones. This means that a large scale environmental disaster is unlikely in our area.