The East Palestine train disaster causes pollution of 6 percent of the area of ​​North America

Environmental scientists indicate that the train accident that occurred near the town of East Palestine, located in the northwestern United States, led to the release of large quantities of toxins into the atmosphere.

Environmental Research Letters notes that according to scientists, this affected Canada and 16 US states. The total area of ​​land affected was 1.4 million square kilometers - about 6 percent of the territory of North America.

“Our measurements showed a high concentration of chlorides in the sediments and revealed a very large area of ​​area covered by these emissions,” says David Guy, coordinator of the National Atmospheric Precipitation Program (NADP). “At the same time, the big surprise for us was the sharp increase.” In the concentration of alkalis and alkaline metals in sediments, the percentage reached record levels during the past ten years.

Scientists came to this conclusion while studying the environmental consequences of a train disaster carrying dozens of containers of hazardous materials, including toxic vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, which occurred in the East Palestine region, located in northeastern Ohio, in early February 2023.

The researchers point out that, due to the leak and extinguishing the fire to prevent the explosion of some containers, part of these toxic substances were emitted into the atmosphere and part of them penetrated into the soil and water. Guy and his colleagues have focused on how these leaks affect atmospheric air and water pollution across North America. To determine this effect, they studied 260 samples taken from different parts of North America in the first days and weeks after the disaster.

The results showed that the pollution spread to much greater distances than the area surrounding the disaster site. The total polluted area reached 1.4 million square kilometers and included 16 American states and some Canadian provinces.

It should be noted that scientists discovered in these samples, in addition to a high percentage of chlorine, ammonia, calcium and nitrate ions.