Submitted by oldschoolskater t3_11430mv in Pennsylvania
CltAltAcctDel t1_j8wwthr wrote
Good idea but I don’t think PA waterways will be greatly affected. The waterways south and west of the site are of greater concern. There’s a divide that runs through PA. Everything east of the divide ends up in the Chesapeake, everything west heads to the Mississippi then the Gulf.
There’s a triple divide point in Potter where the watershed of the Mississippi, Chesapeake and St Lawrence seaway meet.
Another-random-acct t1_j8x2mtb wrote
Triple divide is a great movie about how fracking is trashing our state.
thepennsyltuckyin t1_j8xil42 wrote
Not all of PA's water is contaminated, but they burned the chemicals sending them into the atmosphere. Winds blowing to the east carried it and can create problems with rain and air quality. I don't believe for a second that the air and water in western and other parts of PA will go unscathed by this. To what degree I'm not sure. I am really curious to see what the tests we run show.
cowboyjosh2010 t1_j8xln4y wrote
Whatever degree of damage could ever be done to Pennsylvania by the plume of smoke and unburned chemical vapors: it's done. The fire has been out for 9 days, and these chemicals are volatile enough that anything which didn't burn has already either offgassed by now, OR is trapped in the soil or the ground water--both of which will affect Ohio, not PA.
There may be damages from airborne contaminants that ought to be compensated, but I highly doubt that airborne damage continues at this point.
thepennsyltuckyin t1_j8xqz4g wrote
You may be right, but the fact that residents in that town are saying that it hurts to breathe and people are feeling sick and they maintain the stance that the air and water "is fine" it makes me a little doubtful. Not to mention the smoke from the burn carried into PA because there was wind during the burn. And a few day ago wind apparently picked up PM(particulate matter) from the area and carried that into PA. This is something we have to be mindful of. Chemical spills and burns don't go away just like that. People have the right to question when it looks like they are being lied to.
randomnighmare t1_j90ud4q wrote
> The waterways south and west of the site are of greater concern. There’s a divide that runs through PA. Everything east of the divide ends up in the Chesapeake, everything west heads to the Mississippi then the Gulf
Are you talking about the river basin divide? Because what I am worried about is chemicals falling down as acide rain and sweeping into the water table...
CltAltAcctDel t1_j91puku wrote
I can’t find the article but Michael Mann PSU climate scientist said that wasn’t a significant concern. Burning the chemical turned into various chemicals that dissipate more quickly in the air.
randomnighmare t1_j92a243 wrote
I am taking the word of this Pitt scientist:
>“The outdoor air is a little less problematic because vinyl chloride gets dispersed very quickly and broken down by the sunlight, within a few days, it’s a similar situation in the soil or open body of water. However, one of the things I always emphasize if it goes into the ground water and transported to homes and private wells, it is highly volatile, so it can suffuse into air within those closed spaces,” she said. “It comes out of the water, into the air and that’s really the major route of toxicity for the liver. It comes through the air.”
CltAltAcctDel t1_j92ey6w wrote
She's not talking about acid rain. She's talking about vinyl chloride getting into the ground water. The threat of acid rain is gone.
https://innotechtoday.com/chemicals-from-ohio-train-derailment-spark-concerns-of-acid-rain/
>Acid rain could have formed after the controlled release and burn of chemicals on Feb. 6,” Kevin Crist, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and the director of the Air Quality Center at Ohio University, said. “If it did form and fall, it would have most likely occurred downwind of East Palestine.
>“There would maybe be localized problems, but once that plume is gone, it’s gone. Unless it’s sticking to a residue.”
And the expert you cite is saying the same thing. These chemicals are short lived in the atmosphere.
[deleted] t1_ja2ingo wrote
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