Breaking news: After played down the risks of dioxin pollution for weeks, the EPA orders rail company Norfolk Southern to test the Ohio train derailment site for the toxic and persistent class of pollutants created when plastics or chemicals are burned.
After weeks of questions about contamination associated with a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday ordered rail company Norfolk Southern to test the area for dioxins, a dangerous and persistent class of pollutants created when plastic is burned. The train that crashed there Feb. 3 was carrying chemicals used to make plastics.
Dioxins are produced when burning anything from wood and fossil fuels to municipal waste and cigarettes. Combustion releases chlorine stored in those substances, which reacts with other compounds to form dioxins. The pollutants are of particular concern when plastic is burned because chlorine is a key element of plastics, including PVC and vinyl chloride.Dioxins are linked to cancer, reproductive and developmental problems and immune system damage.
Those cleanup efforts have included removal of more than 2 million gallons of contaminated water and 1,390 tons of contaminated soil, according to Norfolk Southern. Railroad officials could not be immediately reached for comment on EPA’s testing order.In the weeks since the derailment and chemical release, EPA has played down the risks of dioxin pollution. An EPA spokesperson told The Washington Post as recently as Feb. 19 that any dioxins produced “would have been dispersed in the atmosphere.
Residents have voiced fears that East Palestine will join those places as a toxic town. One woman said EPA’s order to test for dioxin offers an opportunity to ease those concerns — but added that she is doubtful the findings will be encouraging.
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