On an average day, 32 million pounds of vinyl chloride moves by rail through Northeast Ohio. Another accident like the train derailment one year ago in East Palestine could happen any time, according to a new report from Toxic-Free Future, an environmental health advocacy group.
The new report mapped the supply route from vinyl chloride production facilities in Texas to facilities in Illinois and New Jersey. The route goes through several parts of Ohio.
"We were shocked to find out the massive amounts of vinyl chloride that are regularly traveling through hundreds of cities and towns across the United States, as we saw in East Palestine, that can spell disaster for a local community in the event of a local train derailment," Mike Schade, the report's author, said.
Schade said he's calling on federal officials to ban production and transport of new vinyl chloride to avoid another East Palestine.
“We found that more than 3 million people are at risk in another major derailment. We also found that there's more than 1,500 schools that are also within a one-mile radius of this regular train route," he said.
Vinyl chloride is almost entirely used to make polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, a plastic most commonly found in building supplies.
“Vinyl flooring is one of the biggest uses of PVC," said Schade. "There are plenty of safer alternatives, such as good old-fashioned wood. Another common alternative is linoleum, which is a material that is bio-based and performs just as well as vinyl.”
In East Palestine last year, officials released 1.1 million pounds of vinyl chloride by burning it. Some residents reported health problems and sought medical attention. Exposure to vinyl chloride can cause irritation to the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract, while chronic exposure has been associated with liver problems and cancer.
The EPA announced in December it would consider further regulating vinyl chloride.
