High Levels of Hazardous Chemical Polluted Air Weeks After East Palestine Train Derailment

The chemical irritant acrolein can cause irritability, especially when it is breathed in, and has been linked to the risk of an increase in cancer. Its levels near the Ohio derailment site were up to six times higher than normal.

Less than three weeks after the disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, researchers detected alarming levels of a chemical irritant linked to increased risks of cancer, a new analysis has revealed.

A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Texas A&M universities descended on the Ohio town with expectations they would find traces of the chemical substance known as vinyl chloride, which was vented and burned off by responders hired by the train operator Norfolk Southern in an attempt to avert a potential explosion. It was later detailed by experts called on by the US National Transportation Safety Board that a blast would not have taken place.

Officials initially believed vinyl chloride would be overwhelmingly detected as it appeared to align with ailments being recorded from East Palestine residents, many of whom reported having difficulties breathing. In fact, one individual coughed "gray mucus" and was later diagnosed with "acute bronchitis due to chemical fumes."

What officials ultimately found were extremely high levels of a chemical irritant called acrolein, levels of which were up to six times higher than normal in the affected areas surrounding the derailment site.

However, according to one report, acrolein was not one of the chemicals spilled during the derailment.

According to Delaware Health and Social Services (DHSS), acrolein is a clear or yellow liquid “that evaporates quickly and burns easily,” and has a “strong, unpleasant smell.” It will often enter the air from burning fossil fuels and tobacco smoke, and also forms when animal and vegetable fats are heated.

People can become easily exposed by breathing in air near running automobiles, or living near an oil or coal power plant. It is also possible to ingest the chemical compound through fried foods, cooking oils and roasted coffee.

The DHSS explains that “breathing low levels of acrolein can irritate the nose, nasal cavity, windpipe and voice box. Fluid build up in the lungs can also occur from breathing acrolein. In cases of severe breathing exposure, death could occur from damage to the lungs and respiratory system."

Researchers with Wednesday’s study have indicated that the levels of acrolein found in the air signal that the levels were high enough to trigger a health concern: “these data cannot ensure that acrolein levels are below those of long-term health concern,” the researchers concluded.

Officials were able to record acrolein traces by driving through East Palestine in a Nissan van while using an instrument called a mass spectrometer to measure hundreds to thousands of chemical compounds throughout the air at a rapid speed.

The findings were published Wednesday in the journal American Chemical Society.