It's not just the dioxins
Discussions around the train derailment in East Palestine shouldn't focus on dioxins alone.
This week may be a bit slow as I had a lot going on the past few days and need to get back into the groove of reading/writing. So I may try to aim for shorter posts in the coming week. This will also help me gauge and see if a mix of longer and shorter posts may work out for readers.
This post will be a quick update on East Palestine with several questions still being unanswered. This follows the prior post which noted some of the dioxin results from the EPA. More information can be found previously in an East Palestine Anthology Series post.
Where is the thiodiglycolic acid coming from?
Answers with respect to the safety and health of East Palestine residents following a train derailment in early February are still unclear.
So far, remarks from EPA representatives suggest that levels of concerning compounds are within normal ranges at the same time that several residents have presented results showing vinyl chloride metabolites within their urine, raising serious questions about where the actual truth lies.
These revelations came to a head last Thursday when representatives from the EPA discussed air monitoring results with East Palestine residents at an information session on April 37th, with several residents raising questions about this paradox between the EPA’s air results and residents’ urinalyses results as reported in Salem News:
Frustrated residents voiced skepticism in the agency’s data collected in response to February’s Norfolk Southern train derailment and accused the EPA of ignoring residents who have reported concerning levels of vinyl chloride metabolites in their urine and lacking concern for those who live outside the immediate perimeter of the derailment site.
Rev. Barry Walker, who lives a mile from the site, questioned the EPA’s decision to not send the Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA) bus, a self-contained mobile laboratory capable of real-time monitoring of outdoor air, further into the community.
“There are some of us a mile or two out from this thing. You don’t cover us,” Walker said, addressing members of the EPA. “You are not checking (the air). You won’t change the route. You won’t check the air at night. You are not testing for vinyl chloride.”
U.S. EPA Region 5’s Matt Villicana, who was joined by the agency’s response coordinator Mark Durno and Community Involvement Coordinator Diane Russell, explained that since vinyl chloride levels are being detected at such low levels at the site itself it would be unlikely that levels would be detected elsewhere in the area any higher.
At the time of this writing the EPA released the entire session on a YouTube account. I haven’t had time to watch it yet but it’s available below for those who are interested:
And a few days prior the EPA also released their dioxin soil results info session as well. Again, I haven’t watched this one yet but it will also be included for those interested:
Returning to the air monitoring info session, the main point of contention is figuring out exactly why there appears to be vinyl chloride metabolites such as thiodiglycolic acid present in some of the urine of residents.
Given that vinyl chloride has a relatively short half-life some questions were raised with respect to continuous exposure to vinyl chloride.
This hypothesis can’t really be tested with such limited data. It’s important to remember that a short half-life doesn’t mean that vinyl chloride would not exist within the body. Rather, a combination of pharmacokinetics including exposure (i.e. oral, inhaled, or dermal) of vinyl chloride, duration and extent of exposure, as well as metabolism, enzyme saturation, genetic differences, and even diet and lifestyles may alter the kinetics of vinyl chloride.
It’s quite possible that very high exposure of vinyl chloride may lead to some levels persisting within the body for a period of time, but again pharmacokinetics are rather complex as some inhaled vinyl chloride may just be exhaled rather than be removed through urine as a metabolite.
Here’s some of what the CDC says with respect to vinyl chloride exposure in a document from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR):
The only exposure biomarker specific to vinyl chloride is the measurement of this compound in expired air. Other exposure biomarkers are not specific to vinyl chloride exposure only. As such, there is limited utility in urine tests for thiodiglycolic acid and N-acetyl-S-(2-hydroxyethyl)-cysteine.
[…]
Thiodiglycolic acid is a major urinary metabolite of vinyl chloride. Measurement of thiodiglycolic acid in urine can be used to monitor occupationally exposed workers (Cheng et al. 2001; Lee et al. 2020; Müller et al. 1979) and children living in the vicinity of industrial vinyl chloride-using facilities (Huang et al. 2016; Wang et al. 2019b). The validity of this biomarker for community health studies has been questioned in cases where exposure concentrations in air are generally low (<5 ppm) (Chen et al. 2018). The amount of thiodiglycolic acid in the urine varies according to individual metabolic idiosyncrasies because metabolism of vinyl chloride to thiodiglycolic acid is a saturable process. Therefore, when exposure exceeds a certain level, the excretion of vinyl chloride as thiodiglycolic acid will plateau (Watanabe and Gehring 1976). In addition, the rate of metabolism of vinyl chloride to thiodiglycolic acid can be influenced by the presence of liver disease and by ethanol consumption as well as intakes of other substances such as barbiturates (Hefner et al. 1975b).
Similar to the measurement of vinyl chloride in expired air, the measurement of thiodiglycolic acid must take place shortly after exposure because of its rapid excretion. The half-life for excretion of thiodiglycolic acid following an acute exposure is between 4 and 5 hours (Watanabe and Gehring 1976; Watanabe et al. 1978a, 1978b). Cheng et al. (2001) suggested that urinary thiodiglycolic acid levels should not be measured at the end of a work shift but are best detected at the beginning of the following workday.
The rather lengthy document goes on to remark that thiodiglycolic acid may not be just a metabolite of vinyl chloride but of other compounds as well:
Excretion of thiodiglycolic acid is not unique to vinyl chloride exposure. For example, thiodiglycolic acid can be excreted in the urine as the result of exposure to vinylidene chloride, ethylene oxide, or 2,2-dichloroethylether (Norpoth et al. 1986; Pettit 1986).
The other compounds don’t appear to be ones carried by Norfolk Southern’s train. However, it’s possible that some of these compounds may be metabolites from combustion. I haven’t corroborated this fact yet, but it adds further complexity about where the thiodiglycolic acid may have been derived from and suggests that vinyl chloride alone may not be the culprit with respect to thiodiglycolic acid.
Lack of background measures and samples taken within days of exposure means that some of these current results may be difficult to parse from noise.
We’ll have to see if more results come out, but as of now the lack of data means a lack of answers.
Don’t focus on just dioxins
I’ve found it strange that recent Substack posts have now downplayed the seriousness of Long COVID and myocarditis related to COVID as it helps streamline criticisms of the vaccines.
The same appears to be happening as it relates to East Palestine, in which the main focus has been directed towards dioxins when hundreds of other compounds are likely to have contributed to the symptoms being experienced by residents. We don’t even know the actual extent of exposure to dioxins, and yet narratives of fear have made this the center of the East Palestine discourse.
Answers to what has happened require that all avenues remain open, while also allowing critical thinking to parse information that is relevant while avoiding information that may not provide much additional context.
In doing a quick look for East Palestine updates I came across this report in Fox News:
The video in question shows Fox anchor Brian Kilmeade talking with East Palestine resident Courtney Miller about some of her symptoms, including puss-filled lesions which appeared on one side of her face months after the accident.
Miller has been reported as living about 100 yards from the derailment site so she’s rather close.
What I found interesting in this interview is the following comments made by Miller:
"I didn't know if it was a chemical burn or if it was from the dioxins or why it's only on the one side of my face and not the other," she said.
I found this comment rather strange, as Miller appeared to allude to the possibility that these lesions may be related to dioxins.
Dioxin poisoning tends to present with long-term health consequences that may not become apparent for many years. However, in some cases of acute exposure to high levels of dioxins (in particular to 2,3,7,8-TCDD) chloracne may form.
Remember that chloracne is a consequence of aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonism/activation. It’s argued that this process leads to hyperpigmentation as well as hyperkeratinization as cells dedicated to create sebum convert over towards cyst-formation, with the end result becoming permanent changes which look like acne and skin discoloration.
Some examples include former Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko who was poisoned by dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD in particular)1:
And this image of a child exposed to dioxin after a runaway chemical reaction in Seveso, Italy led to a giant plume of 2,3,7,8-TCDD to be released into the neighboring environment (as reported previously):
Both images are derived from a review from Schecter, et al.2 with proper sources included in the review.
It’s hard to gauge whether Miller’s legions are indicative of dioxin poisoning, other compounds formed from the train derailment chemical fire, or possibly from other sources (note: I am not a medical professional and this comment is made to at least raise some speculation rather than provide a diagnosis).
However, the appearance of her lesions don’t appear to be similar to those of chloracne, which again occurs during extreme exposure to 2,3,7,8-TCDD. And to Miller’s point she does comment that it’s not dioxin in particular but a possible chemical burn which led to her lesions- again, not much is known aside from the fact that the lesions appeared as well as the symptoms of difficulty breathing and stomach problems.
With respect to context for Miller’s dioxin comments, some of Miller’s concerns appear to be derived from some water samples she collected after the derailment which were then sent out for 3rd party testing (conducted by ALS Environmental).
I had to scour to find the results- she makes reference of them in the interview with Kilmeade, although it’s strange that the results were never shown.
One local news outlet appeared to have posted Miller’s results in a video from mid-March:
Fortunately, this video actually showed some of the supposed results, albeit rather quickly. A print screen from the 1:45 timepoint shows the following:
Because the results were scrolled through rather quickly some of the information became a blur. The results above in yellow were argued to be dioxins/furans at levels higher than normal. 2,3,7,8-TCDD, the most toxic dioxin, is boxed above which appears to be within normal ranges (the above level suggests 0.20 pg/L were measured for 2,3,7,8-TCDD in that one sample).
Note that care must be made when looking at the above results and comparing them to soil samples. Ppt values for water samples aren’t directly comparable to soil samples as they use different units (note the denominator is in Liters/volume here whereas the soil samples are in kg/mass).
The video goes on to provide a more clear list of the dioxins in question:
Remember that dioxin toxicity is measured relative to 2,3,7,8-TCDD via a TEQ* value. Although some of these values seem rather elevated such as the results for OCDD, Total HpCDD, and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD it’s important to examine them from the context of their TEF values (note that “total” values are likely a collection of dioxins/furans with the respective number of chlorine atoms and should inherently be higher relative to the individual compounds).
*I’ve seen both TEQ and TEF so both are used interchangeably. Note that they are referring to the relative toxicity of these dioxins/furans relative to 2,3,7,8-TCDD.
The FDA provides a chart of some of these TEF values with some of the elevated ones in Miller’s results boxed below:
Note that although some of these dioxins/furans were elevated in the water samples taken their TEF values are rather low, with some of these compounds being either 1/100 and 1/10,000 less toxic than 2,3,7,8-TCDD.
It would be nice if a TEQ value was provided, but within this context the elevated levels, which may raise some questions, may overall not be as harmful as assumed (but again this is a supposition based on limited information and has to take into account possible chronic exposure if high levels of dioxins are actually present).
This is why data alone doesn’t tell us much, but interpretation of results which may provide additional context that is necessary in this discussion which can tell us a lot. It’s why care should be taken to not assume that one compound or idea in question will provide all of the answers possible.
The search for dioxin results aren’t done with the intent of claiming that the symptoms are due to dioxin in particular, but that the argument that things are safe would require a comprehensive, highly detailed assessment that examines all possibilities including dioxin.
It’s not that dioxin is the definitive factor in the East Palestine fallout, but that it’s one of many toxic compounds worth considering.
Overall, it’s important to remain open-minded and to keep in mind that the path to answers requires that all avenues be investigated. The search for answers can’t be obfuscated by fear which may cloud the ability to look for other answers.
Dioxins may be one piece to the puzzle. They may end up being a rather bigger piece, but until further information comes out hesitancy and good-faith skepticism should always be utilized.
OK, I lied this went on a bit long. The next few posts will hopefully be shorter. Hopefully!
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Supposedly, at some point Yushchenko became ill and his health continued to deteriorate, with eventual tests suggesting that his blood dioxin levels were extremely high. The source of the dioxin remains unknown, although it’s assumed that his food may have been laced due to the civil tension going on in Ukraine at the time.
Schecter, Arnold & Birnbaum, Linda & Ryan, John & Constable, John. (2006). Dioxins: An overview. Environmental research. 101. 419-28. 10.1016/j.envres.2005.12.003.
The East Palestine "train wreck" reportedly carried and released butyl acrylate and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate . Some of the reported toxic effects are consistent with acrylate monomers. Some of the toxic effects were reported before the vinyl chloride burnoff. Dioxin is not the only toxin.
Another good reason to fire the EPA and leave the states in charge. They are incompetent and could care less about finding the truth.