Early government projection showed thousands of Americans at risk of harmful exposure after East Palestine train derailment
An early government projection on the exposure to toxic chemicals following the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment indicated that the incident could have put thousands of Americans at risk, according to documents obtained by a watchdog group. The incident, which became a political flashpoint, spilled chemicals including vinyl chloride , which is used to make plastic, into the town near the border with Pennsylvania. Vinyl chloride can break down into other potentially harmful chemicals phosgene and hydrogen chloride . The government projected in the days following the accident that exposure to those two substances could pose significant harm, the documents obtained by the Government Accountability Project reveal. In the hours and days that followed, the interagency model projected that dramatically fewer people were at risk.
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Mike DeWine (R) said in an email that the projections were made before the evacuation was ordered and said that evacuating the area “would have dramatically reduced any potential impact.” Tierney added that subsequent modeling “did not show widespread areas affected at a level that would suggest serious health consequences.” Pennsylvania Gov.
