This article is a good starting point for the East Palestine derailment. (Gift link, anyone can read.)
The info circulating on social media has been suboptimal, to say the least. Grab a cup of coffee and let's go over everything from vinyl chloride to electronic brake regulations.
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20 miles *before* it derailed, the 150-car train was already sparking/burning. A "hotbox" detector in Salem, OH, should've picked that up and alerted the crew. It's unknown if it did, but seems unlikely or they would've hit the emergency brake then.
Upon derailment, a bunch of stuff was burning. Some was in the normal range of "stuff on fire," like the semolina and frozen vegetables, and some was nasty but not unusual (polyethylene & polyvinyl), but some of it was uniquely hazardous.
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Butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether are hazardous cargo. Note the "DOT111" next to them: they're in standard (read: cheap) tanks that don't fare as well in accidents. Big surprise, the cheap tanks were compromised.
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The liquified vinyl chloride was in superior DOT105 tanks. They didn't break open, but their PRD activated and vented some vinyl chloride, a carcinogen. And because they're near a fire, they're also potential giant fuel-air bombs (a/k/a BLEVE). Burning it was the only option.
There is some good news here. Vinyl chloride isn't, say, plutonium. It fares poorly outdoors, as do its byproducts.
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Hydrogen chloride and phosgene are rightly terrifying. EPA has been testing; they're already gone.
Here's the latest EPA continuous air monitoring results. No hydrogen chloride since Feb 8. No phosgene since Feb 6. No volatile organic chemicals above screening levels. Good news!
Alas, we're not done.
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Max Kennerly
Martha Howell