Array
Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, may have been exposed to serious health risks — including cancer — from toxic materials carried on a train that derailed on Feb. 3, experts warn.
The scientists told The Post they worry a controlled burn of vinyl chloride — a carcinogen –three days after the derailment near the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania may have contaminated the air, soil and water.
“Not only is it a dangerous chemical in its own right, but burning it you can get hydrochloride acid and phosgene, which has been used in warfare as a gas,” Dr. Jacqueline Moline, vice president of occupational medicine, epidemiology and prevention at Northwell Health, told The Post.
The phosgene — used as a weapon in WWI –could be what has caused swaths of animals to become ill or die since the derailment, Moline said.
“It can be life-threatening,” she said, noting both “cause breathing troubles and in the long term, can cause cancer.”
In addition to vinyl chloride, the derailed train cars contained the chemicals butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and isobutylene.
