(NewsNation) — One of the toxic substances burned in the aftermath of a trail derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last year has been designated as a high-priority chemical which could lead to a full ban of the substance, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced.
The EPA said Wednesday that vinyl chloride, a hazardous material used in producing plastic, is one of five chemicals that will be added to the Toxic Substances Control Act as a high priority. The designation of being on that list is the next step in having it banned, the federal agency said.
The other four chemicals added as high-priority substances include acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzylamine, and 4,4’-methylene bis(2-chloroaniline). The hazardous materials were selected from a longer list of chemicals the agency had previously identified for additional assessment.
Following the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in February 2023, local officials burned 116,000 gallons of toxic vinyl chloride, which released a plume of smoke over East Palestine. The EPA reported following the incident that there was no threat of exposure to residents from vinyl chloride.
EPA officials said that vinyl chloride’s presence after the East Palestine derailment is a major reason why local residents expressed concerns over long-term health risks that were linked to the incident. According to the agency, vinyl chloride has been tied to liver, brain, and lung cancer.
The news comes as some East Palestine residents have expressed concern that a $600 million class-action settlement was reached too quickly and that payments may not be enough to help them recover, NewsNation has previously recovered.
“Studying the safety of these harmful chemicals – all five of which have been linked to cancer and are used to make plastic – would help lead to critical public health and environmental protections in communities across the country and would ensure that the public has access to more data on these chemicals sooner,” Michal Freedhoff, the EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention said in a statement.
The agency has expressed concerns over the substance since the 1970s. Since then, as more local municipalities have replaced lead pipes, there have been added worries among environmental officials that the substance could be leeching from PVC replacements.
However, as the EPA moves to move closer to banning vinyl chloride and other hazardous materials, the EPA could be forced to operate with a smaller budget.
House Republicans passed what is expected to be the final government spending bill, which proposes steep cuts in the EPA’s budget for Fiscal Year 2025.
The annual Department of Interior and EPA funding bill passed 210-205 late Wednesday. NewsNation’s news partner, The Hill, reported that Democrats have come out in staunch opposition to the measure over proposed cuts to the EPA and other areas like the National Park Service, the Smithsonian, and the National Gallery of Art.