|
Abstract
|
East Palestine, Ohio, is the latest example of the creation of a preventable long-term health hazard for people and the planet.
On the evening of Friday, February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern Railroad freight train hauling 150 cars partly derailed in East Palestine because of wheel-bearing overheating. Some of the derailed cars spilled hazardous materials and sparked a fire that burned for days. On February 6, local residents were evacuated before Norfolk Southern Railroad undertook a controlled burn-off because of concerns that five of the derailed cars, which contained vinyl chloride, might explode. Vinyl chloride was released into a trough and set alight, generating a large pewter-colored plume of smoke that included phosgene and hydrogen chloride.
Currently, we do not know exactly what other chemical mixtures were released, although dioxin has been found. However, we do know that vinyl chloride is associated with an increased risk of hepatic angiosarcoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, brain and lung cancers, lymphoma, and leukemia. Phosgene was used as a chemical weapon in World War I to destroy soldiers' lungs, and dioxins are classified as a group 1 carcinogen that can affect male fertility. Dioxin can induce cancer years later, particularly in those exposed as babies or children and those heavily exposed, such as first responders.
It is imperative to rapidly evaluate exposures and establish a registry of people near the derailment. In addition to establishing full corporate accountability for the long-term health consequences to the surrounding community, we need to ensure that regulatory processes prevent any recurrence.
The train derailment at East Palestine was not inevitable; approximately 1000 derailments were reported in the United States during 2022 alone.1 Train accidents are more common in the United States than in comparable countries despite fewer passenger miles and less freight transported.2 The risk for train derailment and its consequences should have been avoided by better supervision and regulation by the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), respectively. The key issue is in whose interests these governmental bodies are acting. It is easy to assume that their only concern is to keep the public safe.
The United States has strong inequities in power, with wealthy individuals and corporations advocating deregulation in their own interests. Government agencies can be portrayed as overbearing and ineffective purveyors of "red tape" that stifles innovation, which adds fuel to a bonfire of regulations potentially leaving the rest of us at risk. Norfolk Southern Railroad was lobbying against "regulatory burdens," while advertising that "safety is a way of life and one of our guiding principles."3 For example, a rule concerning advanced train braking technology was recently removed. Although this regulation may not have prevented the disaster in East Palestine, this type of deregulation indicates the direction of travel regulations. The US train industry has become increasingly less regulated over the past 40 years.4
The problem of how to regulate the regulators has been recognized since governments began using regulations to control behavior and was first articulated by the Roman poet Juvenal two millennia ago: "Who watches the watchers?"5 Regulatory capture can undermine regulators if they act in the interests of the regulated industry rather than the public. Almost inevitably, vested interests win out over the public good, because they have more resources to influence regulators than the public. Alliances between industry representatives and regulators form over time, as personal relationships develop and opportunities arise to engage in conversations that modify the regulators' ability to enforce standards and question practices...
Language: en |