{"id":11497,"date":"2023-03-14T09:04:50","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T14:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/?p=11497"},"modified":"2025-12-09T13:44:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:44:16","slug":"tsca-and-the-east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-are-related-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2023\/03\/14\/tsca-and-the-east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-are-related-heres-how\/","title":{"rendered":"TSCA And The East Palestine Ohio Train Derailment Are Related\u2013Here\u2019s How"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maria Doa<\/a>, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, and\u00a0Lauren Ellis<\/a>, MPH, Research Analyst<\/em><\/p>\n

What Happened:<\/span><\/b> \u00a0<\/span>We recently<\/u><\/span> expressed concern<\/span><\/span><\/a> to EPA about its conclusion that \u201cdistribution in commerce\u201d (including the transportation of chemicals) does<\/span> not<\/span> contribute to the <\/span>unreasonable risk for any of the first 10 chemicals evaluated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In response<\/a>, EPA stated that exposures from the distribution of chemicals in commerce would be minimal \u201cgiven the fact that these chemicals are transported according to existing hazardous materials transportation rules.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why It Matters:<\/span><\/b> EPA does not currently quantify exposures and risks from spills, leaks, and other releases from transportation incidents. But people can be\u2014and are\u2014exposed to toxic chemicals at all stages of the chemical lifecycle, from these incidents to chemical facility releases.<\/p>\n

For example, last month, a Norfolk Southern freight train hauling several railcars carrying toxic chemicals derailed<\/a> in East Palestine, Ohio. This is just the latest example of how accidents involving highly toxic chemicals can have harmful impacts\u2014both short- and long-term\u2014on communities\u2019 health and welfare.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ohio train derailment not only put several surrounding communities at risk of chemical pollution and negative health outcomes, but also highlighted the connection between TSCA and the risks of toxic chemicals from transportation accidents.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next:<\/span><\/b> To accurately assess chemical risk under TSCA, EPA should consider data on spills, leaks, and releases from derailments, collisions, and other transportation incidents in its risk evaluations. These releases and exposures simply cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n

By expanding evaluations to include the risks of chemicals at all stages of the chemical lifecycle, EPA can better protect communities. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, and\u00a0Lauren Ellis, MPH, Research Analyst What Happened: \u00a0We recently expressed concern to EPA about its conclusion that \u201cdistribution in commerce\u201d (including the transportation of chemicals) does not contribute to the unreasonable risk for any of the first 10 chemicals evaluated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).\u00a0 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151199,"featured_media":11503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114036,39263,114033],"tags":[],"coauthors":[114042],"class_list":["post-11497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deep-dives","category-public-health","category-tsca-2"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t