The major pollutant from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment was vinyl chloride. It’s not as dangerous as it’s been portrayed—ask the National Fire Prevention Association.
Writes Josh Holm in Reason:
“Vinyl chloride, a chemical long used to make PVC plastics, is being portrayed as something more suitable for capital punishment than for a routine manufacturing process in a factory. Ohioans, like the rest of the country, are being bombarded by horrifying claims about its health risks, most of which have been just plain wrong.
“There is, in fact, strong evidence that vinyl chloride not only is not deadly but is, in fact, considerably less toxic than many common, everyday drugs and chemicals. Likewise, its cancer risks have also been wildly overstated. It is easy to call a chemical a carcinogen, but in the absence of context, dose, and length of exposure, this term means little.”
He cites evidence on chemical risk from the National Fire Prevention Association.
Image of Palestine, Ohio, accident taken by Thunderlips36 with Creative Commons license.
Jane, I was glad to read this. An unfortunate consequence of the medical establishment’s disgraceful performance during the Covid pandemic (and continuing to this day) is the rise in credibility of advocates for “alternative health care,” including some outright cranks. Case in point: Robert Kennedy Jr., who is good on the dangers of Covid vaccines but is a gullible chemophobe who thinks the air, water, and our food are filled with “invisible poisons” that are killing us all. We considered this in the 1970s and 1980s and pretty much put it to rest. The dose makes the poison, our exposure to most alleged “carcinogens” is too low to pose a health threat (and may even contribute to our natural immunity), and the benefits of modern food processing and medicine vastly exceed the increased risks. We’ve lost a quarter-century of science and health education in just the past three years. Now THAT’S a real problem.
Some politicians (i.e., some Republican politicians) are taking advantage of the turmoil to disparage Biden and in particular Pete Buttigieg. In the past, Republicans have been on the more skeptical side on these chemical issues. But you may be right—the three years of Covid may have had an impact.