A newly released study has revealed that the chemicals leaked during the East Palestine train disaster last year have spread much further than initially anticipated, reaching 16 states and raising health concerns for the surrounding communities.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that pollution from burning vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen, extended across 540,000 square miles from Wisconsin to Maine and South Carolina.
The authors emphasize that this proves the fire's impacts were larger in scale and scope than initially predicted, as it was originally expected to be a local contamination issue.