Pitt researchers say residents will get results of tests for vinyl chloride and liver damage, refer people for treatment if needed

The University of Pittsburgh study that’s now underway in communities affected by the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, focuses, in part, on whether vinyl chloride
exposure worsens outcomes for people already suffering from liver problems.

This is significant for a few reasons.

First, earlier studies revealed that mice with underlying liver disease indeed experienced
increased liver damage when exposed to vinyl chloride at levels below the standard set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Is this the case for humans, too? The Pitt study would be a step toward finding an answer.

Second, residents in communities such as East Palestine already face higher risks of developing liver disease. That’s because those communities are designated as medically underserved, meaning residents lack adequate access to primary health care. Other risk factors include poverty, older age, existing liver disease, obesity, diabetes, high-fat diets and alcohol abuse. Now we can throw exposure to vinyl chloride into the mix.

This summer, Pitt researchers are collecting blood and urine samples, conducting health screenings, and testing indoor air and water, as well as outdoor air and garden soil. Parents are asked to fill out a survey of their children’s health concerns. Pitt’s team is in the process of signing up 300 participants who live within 8 miles of the derailment site.

Researchers are examining blood and urine for evidence of liver disease — metabolites produced when the liver breaks down vinyl chloride, for example. Data such as a person’s height and weight allow researchers to calculate the individual’s body mass index. People with a high BMI are more likely to develop liver disease and will be monitored more thoroughly.

If researchers discover signs of liver disease in a participant, they’ll let that person know and refer them to a specialist so they can seek treatment.

“We said unequivocally that every community member will get all their information personally,” said Maureen Lichtveld, dean of Pitt’s School of Public Health. “So if we see early warning signs, we will refer them to a specialist. We will also provide more overarching results. Everything will be de-identified, so you won’t know what your neighbor had but you will know what you have in terms of data. Every person is going to get their results.”

The study ends in December, and researchers will share all research results then, as well, Lichtveld said.

Researchers are testing indoor air because vinyl chloride may still be present in the community nearly 2½ years after the derailment. Vinyl chloride degrades in sunlight and air but remains stable in the dark airless conditions in which groundwater is found, said Juliane Beier, assistant professor of medicine and a researcher at Pitt’s School of Medicine. If chemicals such as vinyl chloride have made their way into East Palestine’s relatively high aquifer, those chemicals can evaporate into homes sitting above and accumulate there. In addition, some residents draw their water from wells, which presents another pathway for vinyl chloride to enter a home. That’s why they’re testing indoor air in home basements and tap water.

Vinyl chloride enters the body through inhalation, and most of it is quickly exhaled. The small percentage that remains gets metabolized by the liver within half an hour, Beier said. Vinyl chloride does not accumulate in the body like some other chemicals. The metabolites created when the liver breaks down vinyl chloride are toxic. This is what causes liver damage.

All this talk about vinyl chloride no doubt elicits sighs from a number of people in the East Palestine area. That’s understandable. In the weeks and months after the derailment, they were inundated with information about vinyl chloride, its dangers to human health and its importance to the plastics industry. But what about all those other chemicals unleashed during those cold days in February 2023? It’s a valid question.

News reporters — and researchers — have focused on vinyl chloride for very valid reasons: It’s a known carcinogen, and officials dumped and burned an astounding amount of the substance on Feb. 6, 2023. The five railcars officials emptied into the burn pit contained more than 115,000 gallons of vinyl chloride. The resulting black plume that rose skyward and then spread like some evil demon from a Sam Rami horror movie got everyone’s attention.

When Beier learned about the train disaster and the subsequent vinyl chloride burnoff, she quickly contacted Lichtveld.

“We both said we need to get there because this could be devastating,” Beier said. “So we immediately sat down together, within a week, and just wrote a grant together, the one we have now to be able to help.”

Let’s return for a moment to a concern discussed earlier — the mixture of chemicals released during the derailment and its aftermath. Residents can rattle off the names: butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol, benzene. They’ve voiced concerns about the health consequences of their exposure to this “chemical cocktail.” This isn’t lost on Pitt’s research team.

“We have been studying mixtures, but not these particular mixtures that existed in East Palestine,” Beier said, “and we have shown that mixtures of chemicals do enhance liver disease.”

Those studies have been on mice, however. Which again raises the question, will it be the same with humans?

“The problem with mixtures is that they are really hard to study because the mixtures are going to be different for each and every one of us,” Beier said. “Let’s say my family is exposed. We are all living in the same house, but then I work at Pitt and my kids go to school somewhere else. So it’s somewhat tough to model.”

Both Lichtveld and Beier said they hope to conduct a 10-year study in the East Palestine area. Liver disease progresses very slowly — over a period of years or even decades. “However, if there are enhancing factors such as environmental pollutants, it can progress faster,” Beier said. “So within a 10-year time frame, you would be able to see an enhanced progression.”

This is a tough time to seek funding for such studies. The current Pitt study receives funding from the National Institutes of Health, an agency that’s facing a 43% budget cut. But Lichtveld said her team will try.

“It’s a challenging time, but we’re hoping we can continue to serve the East Palestine community,” Lichtveld said. “We want to create a registry of people so that we can follow them over time and know exactly where they are even if they move away. But that’s in the future. Without the baseline information, we won’t have comparison material. That’s why this study is so important.” 

Those interested in participating can contact the research team.

RELATED STORY: Greed and deceit define the history of vinyl chloride, which tops the list chemicals unleashed in East Palestine