The Ohio Train Derailment: Lessons for Food & Beverage Businesses

The Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern Railway freight train transporting hazardous materials carries a lesson for all food manufacturing facilities, not just those in the East Palestine, Ohio, area where about 50 train cars derailed causing a toxic chemical spill and a massive fire.

Two weeks later, a train with one car carrying hazardous materials derailed outside Detroit – which unfortunately is not surprising given that the U.S. sees an average of 1,000 train derailments every year, with 11 train accidents causing the release of hazardous chemicals.

So, the question becomes: Does your crisis management plan include the potential impact of hazardous chemical spills?

In the Ohio derailment, 20 of the more than 100 cars were classified by Norfolk Southern as carrying hazardous material, with the full Norfolk Southern report to EPA showing cars with polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride as burned/destroyed by fire and cars/tanks with polypropylene glycol, petroleum lube oil, diethylene glycol and ethylhexyl acrylate breached with some or most of the load lost.

The rising smoke cloud after authorities released chemicals from a train derailment as seen from the ground in a nearby neighborhood.

While those hazardous compounds were released into the surrounding air, soil and water, it should be noted that due to fire in general, potential decomposition products can be created from these, such as dioxin and various gaseous compounds.

The EPA documented the release or threat of release of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants into the environment from the derailment, including the detection in samples from five streams and the Ohio River. Materials also were observed entering storm drains. Contaminated soil and free liquids were observed and potentially covered and/or filled during reconstruction of the rail line.

Extending EPA recommendations to the food industry, TAG advises that farms and food facilities in areas potentially affected by the derailment should test your water and continue to monitor both your water and air quality. Ensure that you know the source of your water and that of any suppliers potentially impacted by the incident. Stay attuned to and follow the advisories from the U.S. EPA and your state’s EPA, as well as those of CDC and your local health department.

Additionally, given the impacts of this derailment and the number of derailments that occur annually, TAG recommends that all growers, manufacturers and processors:

Include hazardous chemical spills as a part of your risk management plan – whether you’ve been impacted by this particular incident or not. Ensure you are conducting risk assessments on environmental concerns – whether human or nature-generated (e.g., natural disasters, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc.) – and have a crisis plan in place in case of failure.
Know the source of your drinking/processing water, the water table/aquifer of your area and what feeds into it.
If your farm or facility uses well water, know what is/isn’t normal for your well and its water, and when to have it tested.
If your farm or facility uses surface water, be familiar with your watershed sources and know what is upstream that could potentially impact you. Be aware of local incidents that could negatively affect your surface water.
If you or a supplier are located near railroad tracks, know the risks. With about 4.5 million tons of toxic chemicals transported by rail across the U.S. every year, and 12,000 trains carrying hazardous materials crossing through towns and cities each day, it is essential to monitor for incidents.
Regularly monitor and test your water and air quality, and make this a part of your supplier requirements as well. Know where your suppliers are located and monitor any potential issues in those areas.