Ohio Train Derailment

3/2/23

By: Nick Bikoff and Anderson Shertzer


On February 3, 2023, at 8:55 p.m., on Norfolk Southern Railway, in East Palestine, Ohio, freight train 32N derailed. The freight train had about 150 cars, and all of them crashed over two miles over the railway. The chemicals that spilled are Vinyl Chloride, Butyl Acrylate, Ethylhexyl Acrylate, Benzene, and Ethylene Glycol. Here’s what they do.

Vinyl Chloride. This one is what most officials say is the most toxic and dangerous.

“I think it’s probably the safest form of transportation of these chemicals.”

-Mrs. Erickson, 7th grade science teacher

It’s a known carcinogen, which is something that causes cancer. This specific chemical causes liver cancer. It is a colorless liquid, it’s used as a precursor, or a foundation, for PVC and other hard plastics, and is not naturally occurring. It also has a boiling point of 8° Fahrenheit(-13.333°Celsius), also known as very cold, which makes it turn into a gas very easily. Its main problem for the environment is that when it turns into a gas, it creates phosgene, which was used as a gas in World War 1, and is very deadly.

Butyl Acrylate is less deadly, but almost as dangerous to humans. It is a colorless liquid, used in paints and plastics. It is used as a precursor for Bisphenol A(BPA). BPA is used to manufacture polycarbonate plastics, which are used in toys such as LEGO. Unfortunately, it is highly reactive to heat, and can be absorbed by human skin. Too much absorption can cause lung cancer. Ethylhexyl Acrylate, pronounced ethel-hexel acry-late, is a colorless liquid. It looks and smells very similar to water. It can react very violently and explosively when heated. It has a flash point(what temperature it explodes) of 180° Fahrenheit, which is very low for a flash point. It is used as a precursor to paint and plastics.

The aftermath of the train wreck

The train as it crashes

Benzene is what gives gas its sweet, delicious smell. Unfortunately, it’s very highly flammable when mixed with acids. It is in a lot of household products, such as glue, paints, furniture wax, and detergents, which is quite surprising, considering that it’s used as a solvent(something that a thing dissolves in)for pharmaceutical products. It also gives you leukemia, a cancer, which is why you should never drink gas or detergents. Last, but not least, Ethylene Glycol. It is also a colorless liquid, and, like almost everything else, has a very low flash point of 1600° Fahrenheit. It’s used in paint and varnish.

It’s pretty crazy to think that all of these chemicals spilled out of a train. So that begs the question. Should trains still carry toxic chemicals? Mrs. Erickson, our very own 7th grade science teacher, says, “I think it’s probably the safest form of transportation of these chemicals.” Do you agree? Speak you mind down here:

Contributor Bios

Nick Bikoff is a 6th grader at Edgewood Junior High School. He did taekwondo and got up to a green belt. He enjoys the potatoes at China Star Buffet. He also plays the alto saxophone and read all summer about embouchure and fingerings. He plays piano and is currently taking lessons. He knows a little bit of guitar.


Anderson Shertzer is a 6th grader at Edgewood Junior High School. He likes to draw. He also does robotics.