Ohio petrochemical disaster “will not be over” despite clean up efforts, say campaigners

13 Mar 2023 --- Environmental campaigners are calling for harsher measures against petrochemical corporations and their transport partners following the Ohio train derailment disaster, after a US Senate hearing last week in which Norfolk Southern – the company responsible – issued an apology and pledged a relief fund of US$21 million.

Break Free from Plastics (BFFP) says the disaster, in which PP pellets ignited a fire during transport that released significant amounts of vinyl chloride – used to create plastic material PVC – into the environment, “will not be over,” regardless of cleanup efforts. 

Despite the incident reaching international headlines, BFFP also asserts such catastrophes continuously happen but are largely disregarded due to the race and class of the citizens impacted. 

“Train derailments, petrochemical disasters and plastic fires happen all the time – most people just aren’t used to hearing about them because they usually take place in communities of color,” reads a BFFP statement. 

“Norfolk Southern’s initial offer of US$1,000 to each community member for their inconvenience makes it crystal clear how little these companies value the health, safety and livelihoods of the communities whose backs upon which they make their profits.” 

Chemicals were dumped in the surrounding environment to prevent explosions after the derailment, according to an inquest.Justice delayed, justice denied 
After numerous calls from experts and impacted communities, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 2 it would begin requiring Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins, a group of “extremely persistent” toxic chemicals that were likely released from the burning of vinyl chloride and PVC.

However, BFFP US policy officer Graham Hamilton says: “While we’re glad to see this announcement, we wish it had come sooner. Justice delayed is justice denied and we expect more from an administration that claims to prioritize environmental justice.”

The BFFP has also joined the Hip Hop Caucus, a US non-profit organization that campaigns for environmental justice in the name of racial equality. The groups are calling on the EPA to ban vinyl chloride and PVC entirely.

“There is no safe way to produce, transport or recycle toxic chemicals in communities. Petrochemicals, like vinyl chloride, are produced mainly in low-income and Black and Brown communities,” says the Hip Hop Caucus. 

“This incident, which could have been avoided, is a signal to the vulnerabilities we will face if petrochemical production continues its rapid growth.”

“It is imperative that we not only listen to and support labor workers so that their jobs and our infrastructure systems are safe, but that we let go of the false narrative that the mass production of toxic chemicals is nonpoisonous and necessary,” they stress.

Industry action 
Some industry players have already pledged to eliminate harmful chemicals from their products. In January 2022, the US Plastics Pact – a group endorsed by 100 major consumer companies, including Walmart, Target, Unilever, Keurig Dr. Pepper, General Mills and others – made a voluntary commitment to stop using polyvinyl chloride in their plastic packaging by 2025. 

Despite these pledges, BFFP’s president and former EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck says more should be done at the legislative level. “The toxic train derailment should be a wakeup call to the American public: Vinyl chloride is an unnecessary and dangerous threat to our health, and it’s past time for the EPA to ban this known carcinogen from drinking-water pipes, packaging and toys our children chew on.” 

Dioxins settle on soil and dust and enter the air and water, putting people at risk of inhalation and consumption. 

Many of the vinyl chloride and PVC production facilities in the US are in Texas, Kentucky and along an 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi River in Louisiana, where local residents are predominantly Black and low-income. 

Rates of cancer in the area are so much higher than the American average that this corridor has become known as “Cancer Alley.” 

Although banning vinyl chloride has been discussed for over 40 years, it is still widely used in piping, building materials, packaging, children’s toys and many consumer products. 

PackagingInsights recently spoke to John Beard Jr., who spent 38 years in the petrochemical industry but now campaigns for marginalized US communities disproportionately affected by pollution in areas where petrochemicals are produced. 

He compares the environmental and human health conditions in such areas to those of countries like Iraq and Ukraine. 

By Louis Gore-Langton