Researchers from and other institutions have in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal titled “Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts,” detailing the environmental consequences of the chemical spill and burn following a Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, over two years ago.
The soil sample study, led by Myron Lard, Ph.D., provides insights into the hazardous byproducts formed from the incident. Lard, who earned his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from in 2020, recently completed his doctorate at Louisiana State University and is now a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University.
The train derailment on Feb. 3, 2023, raised serious health and environmental concerns due to the chemical spills and open-air combustion.
“These combustion byproducts can be very dangerous and have been linked to serious health effects, including thyroid issues, reproductive health problems and even cancers.,” Lard said.
The research team, including Joseph Ortiz, Ph.D., and Kuldeep Singh, Ph.D., of Kent State's Department of Earth Sciences, Sarah Eichler, Ph.D., of Kent State's Department of Biological Sciences; and the lead author, Lard, hypothesized that the combustion of chemicals like vinyl chloride in the presence of transition-metal oxides from the train, tracks and soil minerals, led to the formation of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs), including dioxins and furans.
“We detected elevated levels of both classes of contaminants that we tested for,” Lard said.
While working on his doctorate at Louisiana State, Lard developed innovative methodologies to monitor the toxicity of chemical burn contaminants, which were applied to soil samples collected from 27 sites near the East Palestine burn area six months after the incident. The study, conducted with Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, Ph.D., of North Carolina State University analyzed samples taken in August 2023 within a two-mile radius of the derailment site. The results, consistent with previous tests from the Environmental Protection Agency and Norfolk Southern, showed elevated levels of EPFRs and dioxin/furan toxic equivalence (TEQ) near the derailment area compared to background levels, indicating significant environmental health impacts. Forty-eight percent of the samples exceeded cancer regional screening level values, with two samples indicating a higher TEQ non-cancer risk after 30 years.
The study found that EPFR and dioxin/furan TEQ concentrations were elevated in soil samples collected closer to the derailment site, suggesting the controlled vented burn on Feb. 6, 2023, as a potential source. These findings underscore the need for ongoing monitoring and remediation efforts at the site and similar industrial accident areas.
“This study is the first to demonstrate a direct link between EPFRs and dioxin/furan concentrations in real-world soil, providing critical insights into environmental contamination and public health risks,” Lard said. “Our findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive environmental monitoring and stricter regulations to mitigate the long-term impacts of industrial accidents on the ecosystem and human health.”
"Kent State has been working on this project in collaboration with researchers throughout the area,” Ortiz said. “We have cutting-edge expertise to address environmental concerns. We're trying to let the public know what the challenges and risks are associated with these kinds of environmental disasters."
As part of a project funded by the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, Ortiz, Eichler and some of their students were already conducting research in East Palestine and had collected some soil samples before the occurrence of the spill.
“Those soil samples provided a baseline background against which we could compare the contaminated sediments,” Ortiz said. “This allowed us to see what was presumably associated with that particular event. We happened to be at the right place at the right time in terms of having these samples collected within a couple of miles of where the spill site occurred in East Palestine."
These results underscore the need for comprehensive longitudinal monitoring and remediation efforts in the affected area and similar industrial accident sites. The study also offers valuable insights into the formation mechanisms and persistence of EPFRs, dioxins and furans.
“It is important to do more comprehensive studies and also to take potentially a look at additional remediation efforts, as data suggests there is an ongoing risk to the community,” Lard said.
The group would also like to do some tests related to the ventilation plume and see if there are heavier-contaminated locations inside the zone than in other spots outside the plume.
For more information about Kent State’s Department of Earth Sciences, visit www.kent.edu/earth-sciences.
For more information about Kent State’s Department of Biological Sciences, visit www.kent.edu/biology.
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Media Contacts:
Dr. Joseph Ortiz, jortiz@kent.edu, 330-672-2225
Jim Maxwell, JMAXWEL2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028