The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed five chemical substances for risk evaluation and possible designation as high priority under the nation’s chemical safety law, including vinyl chloride, a toxic substance spilled by a train derailment at East Palestine, Ohio in 2023.
Under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, the EPA has the power to implement stringent regulations on substances classed as high priority, including reporting, record-keeping, testing requirements, and other restrictions.
Assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff said a new designation could help bolster health and environmental protections in communities.
Process still ongoing
If the EPA designates these substances as high priority, the next step will involve evaluations to determine whether they present an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment.According to the EPA, if the risk evaluation process, which the agency is required to complete within about three years, finds these chemicals do present a risk, the government agency will “take action to eliminate these unreasonable risks.”
Report co-author Jenny Gitlitz said among the recommendations for the EPA is to actually visit communities affected by vinyl chloride to see any impacts first hand.
“We’ve recommended that as part of its regulatory process, EPA officials visit the communities that have been directly impacted by vinyl chloride,” she said.
“They need to talk to residents whose health has been harmed by contaminated water and air pollution. They must also examine how vinyl chloride can leach from PVC pipes into drinking water. It’s time for action to protect public health.”
In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine spilled 1.1 million pounds of vinyl chloride. Adding to the disaster, officials started a controlled release and burn from overturned rail cars days later, creating a fireball and plume of black smoke filled with chemicals that could be seen for miles. Locals say the smoke dropped poisons into their land and water and that they are still feeling the effects a year later.