What’s so bad about a vinyl chloride spill?
Understanding the chemical behind the railway disaster in Ohio
Vinyl chloride is an industrial chemical that’s been used in PVC manufacturing for decades. Recently, over 100,000 gallons of the chemical spilled or were burned in Ohio following the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train.
Many experts are calling this the largest ecological disaster in US history, even as government officials tell town residents that it’s safe to return home. Is the spill as dangerous as some say?
An explosive start
On the evening of February 3, 2023, a wheel bearing on one car of the 150-car train began to overheat. Just outside the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, the bearing failed, causing 38 cars to derail. The explosion that followed and its raging fires could be seen for miles.
Soon details emerged that 11 of the derailed cars were carrying vinyl chloride, over 100,000 gallons of it, at least some of which had already spilled. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was dispatched to control the spill. Over the next 48 hours, residents within two miles of the crash were evacuated as Norfolk Southern began assessing the best way to deal with the five vinyl chloride cars that were still sealed but highly unstable.
