June 21, 2024
East Palestine's controlled chemical burn in 2023 spread pollutants to at least 16 states, new study shows
By Zack Budryk
Norfolk Southern's controlled burn spread chemicals to surrounding states. (Adobe Stock photo)
In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, leading to an explosion and a toxic vinyl chloride spill. The subsequent controlled burn, which was intended to prevent further explosions, created a plume that spread air pollutants to at least 16 states, according to research published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, Zack Budryk of The Hill reports. The cloud "reached as far north as New England . . . according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin. They found the overall radius spanned more than 540,000 square miles."
Researchers studied soil samples before and immediately after the spill to evaluate the burn's reach. "They found evidence of high chloride concentration in states including Virginia, South Carolina and Wisconsin, as well as particularly high concentrations near Canada's border with New York, an area downwind of the crash site," Budryk explains.
The study's lead researcher, David Gay, said, "All of these pollutants are important in the environment because their accumulation has an impact on the Earth's aquatic and terrestrial environments in many ways."
In March 2024, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, testified at a Senate hearing that the deliberate burn was not necessary because there was no risk of additional explosions.