WASHINGTON — As health concerns continue surrounding the toxic Ohio train derailment in East Palestine, U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced late last week that Norfolk Southern would be required to begin sampling directly for dioxins out of an abundance of caution.
But why did it take a month after the Feb. 3 derailment before the order for dioxin testing was made? That was one of the questions posed by West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito during a Senate committee hearing Thursday as leaders in Washington heard updates on what's happening with the situation.
“Our air monitoring was searching for primary indicators such as phosgene and hydrogen chloride immediately during and after the burn," said Debra Shore, Administrator for Region 5 of the U.S. EPA. "We detected very low levels, which very quickly went even down to non-detect. Without those primary indicators, it was a very low probability that dioxins would’ve been created. They are secondary byproducts of the burning of vinyl chloride. But we were listening to the community, and they expressed significant concerns about dioxins. Norfolk Southern has submitted a soil sampling plan. It’s undergone review by the Unified Command, and our folks will be out sampling soils for dioxins.”
What are dioxins? Here's how they're explained by the World Health Organization:
Dioxins are environmental pollutants. They belong to the so-called “dirty dozen” - a group of dangerous chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Dioxins are of concern because of their highly toxic potential. Experiments have shown they affect a number of organs and systems.
Once dioxins enter the body, they last a long time because of their chemical stability and their ability to be absorbed by fat tissue, where they are then stored in the body. Their half-life in the body is estimated to be 7 to 11 years. In the environment, dioxins tend to accumulate in the food chain. The higher an animal is in the food chain, the higher the concentration of dioxins.
The EPA says dioxins are highly toxic and can cause cancer, reproductive / developmental problems, damage to the immune system and can interfere with hormones.
Last week, the EPA said the agency would take the following steps if dioxins are detected:
- Share information with the public
- Determine whether the levels found poses any unacceptable risk to human health and the environment
- Direct Norfolk Southern to conduct immediate cleanup in coordination with state partners
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw also testified during Thursday's Senate committee hearing in which he apologized for the impacts the derailment has caused for East Palestine residents.
You can watch his full opening statement in the video below: