Dioxin Fears Overblown?
There has been some legitimate concern about Dioxins from the East Palestine site
One critical lesson is that EPA should be testing for dioxins, a highly hazardous class of chemicals. We’ve seen elevated levels of dioxins released in industrial accidents involving chlorinated chemicals—from the explosion at the PVC plant in Illiopolis, Illinois to the Plastimet PVC recycling fire in Ontario. But without a comprehensive investigation, we will not know if dioxins are also a concern in the East Palestine vinyl chloride disaster.
And of course there are those who take it to another level. Media Capitalism (Mainstream and Alternative) at its best. Fear and Anger Sell.
It is well known that incineration of PolyVinyl Chloride can cause dioxins, especially during poorly controlled combustion.
PolyVinyl Chloride (PVC) is a long string of Vinyl Chloride, known as a polymer used in tile, pipes and various other plastics.
PVC is made from Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) and includes other chemicals like plasticizers which are toxic in and of themselves
Dioxins which everyone knows are nasty unhealthy combustion products that last a long time in the environment. Burning PVC can cause them.
The name "dioxins" is often used for the family of structurally and chemically related polychlorinated dibenzo para dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Certain dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) with similar toxic properties are also included under the term “dioxins”. Some 419 types of dioxin-related compounds have been identified but only about 30 of these are considered to have significant toxicity, with TCDD being the most toxic.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dioxins-and-their-effects-on-human-health
TCDD (2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo para dioxin). Looks like this.
Clearly its a complicated reaction to get from PVC or VCM to TCDD and I wont bore you with too much of the details, but its more likely to happen with uncontrolled combustion of solid PVC than controlled burning of VCM gas/liquid
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/incineration-review.pdf
This is not to say no dioxin was created but this paper (behind paywall) makes no mention of dioxin being created
An analysis of the combustion gases from VCM reveal the following composition: HC1 27,000 ppm; CO2 58,100 ppm; CO 9500 ppm; phosgene 40 ppm; and VCM trace. From a hazard standpoint, the gross quantity of hydrogen chloride is the main source of danger in a VCM fire.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0002889718506429?journalCode=aiha20
While I cant say there was no Dioxin from the VCM burn, I don’t think its a major concern. Phosgene was more of a likely combustion product and it was only detected in the ppb range
Its also important to note all Dioxin is not equally dangerous
Dioxins are one group in EPA’s list of 30 hazardous air pollutants that pose the greatest potential health threat in urban areas. Although there are hundreds of different forms, only the 2,3,7,8-substituted tetra- through octa-chlorinated dioxins and furans cause toxic effects. Learn about urban air toxic pollutants and what EPA is doing to reduce their emissions.
Dioxins are present in our environment from a variety of sources, and collectively can be called simply dioxin. The following links contain information about different ways people can be exposed to dioxin.
Dioxin in drinking water (table of regulated drinking water contaminants)
Dioxin in livestock, meat, poultry, and eggs (FDA and EPA Joint Study)Exit EPA’s website
https://www.epa.gov/dioxin/common-sources-exposure-dioxin
Dioxins and furans can enter your body through breathing contaminated air, drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food. About 90% of exposure to dioxins and furans is from eating contaminated food. Dioxins and furans can build up in the fatty tissues of animals.
Dioxins and furans can cause a number of health effects. The most well known member of the dioxins/furans family is 2,3,7,8 TCDD. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that it is likely to be a cancer causing substance to humans.
In addition, people exposed to dioxins and furans have experienced changes in hormone levels. High doses of dioxin have caused a skin diseased called chloracne. Animal studies show that animals exposed to dioxins and furans experienced changes in their hormone systems, changes in the development of the fetus, decreased ability to reproduce and suppressed immune system.
The U.S. EPA has set a limit of 0.00003 micrograms (30 pcg) of 2,3,7,8-TCDD per liter of Dioxins and Furans drinking water (ug/L). The Food and Drug Administration recommends not eating fish and shell fish with more than 50 parts per trillion (0.05 ppb) of 2,3,7,8-TCDD.
https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/wastemin/web/pdf/dioxfura.pdf
So for residents near the fire, its probably best not to grow or eat locally grown food or eat the local fish until you get some test results, especially since the train was also carrying PVC which was involved in the uncontrolled fire and did burn. This likely did create dioxins including TCDD. How much PVC burned? We don’t know, but certainly dioxin should be tested in the vicinity of the accident, and depending on how much burned perhaps it should be tested for in distant neighboring areas.
PVC accidents are not the only source of dioxins. Lots of dioxins are released in house fires (lot of PVC in the home), and forest fires, burning biomass and incinerating trash, and of course various industrial processes. Even smoking a cigarette will expose the smoker to dioxin (0.1 pcg per cigarette)
I cant say this for sure but I am sure more dioxin is released in California Forest Fires each year than the East Palestine accident
It is approximated that Canadian forest fires produce annually 10 times the amount of dioxin emitted in the Seveso accident!
The Seveso, Italy, accident, in July of 1976, involved 37,000 people. Although some of the exposed children in “Zone A,” the area of heaviest exposure, had dioxin tissue levels as high as 56,000 ppt immediately following the accident in 1976 — the highest dioxin level ever measured in a human — the only adverse health effect to date is chloracne
https://www.acsh.org/news/2016/06/01/doomsday-chemical-update-whatever-happened-to-dioxin
The good news is less Dioxin is being released today than 40 years ago
Releases to the environment probably peaked in the 1970/80s and have declined sharply since then. Exposure of the general population, as measured in dietary studies, has declined by over 90% since 1982.
https://www.rsc.org/images/Why-do-we-worry-about-Dioxins_tcm18-243808.pdf
For those of us still around that survived the 60’s and 70’s, its a paradise today in terms of water/air pollution.
Anyways, thats all I got to say about Dioxin.
Thank you kindly.