Urine tests from East Palestine residents unreliable for vinyl chloride exposure

Jan 18, 2024

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Ohio's top doctor says the urine tests people in East Palestine have been getting back aren't reliable for specific exposure to vinyl chloride.

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News 5 Investigators asked Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff about the tests after people brought us concerns about their health last month.

Health questions are weighing heavily on people, including Kristina Ferguson, Shelby Walker and Eric Cozza.

All three are from East Palestine and have homes close to where the train derailed, caught fire and had cars breached to burn off vinyl chloride in early February.

"I'm just brokenhearted, like I've lost everything. I've lost my home, I've lost my family; they're spread out everywhere. I'm losing my health," Shelby Walker said last month.

Their recent urine tests showed a breakdown product of vinyl chloride in their system.

News 5 Investigators asked the Ohio Department of Health if people should be spending hundreds of dollars on these urine tests and what the results mean.

"We understand and respect people's concerns and their desire for as much information as possible, but as we've been saying since the early days after the derailment incident, there really are no good scientifically based tests for quantitatively assessing past exposure," Vanderhoff said.

He says urine tests don't record the presence of vinyl chloride but rather a breakdown product called thiodiglycolic acid.

"This is a substance which is commonly found in urine samples of populations who have never been exposed to vinyl chloride," Vanderhoff said.

He said the breakdown product could come from other things like raw onions, some medications and vitamins and smoking cigarettes.

"This test is non-specific; it does not reliably indicate specific exposure to vinyl chloride. So even if you have a relatively high test result of thiodiglycolic acid, it could be from a variety of sources," he said.

Vanderhoff stressed the monitoring in East Palestine continues to show no concerning levels of contaminants.

Vanderhoff continued, "The chemicals that people may have breathed during the fire emergency are typically broken down and eliminated by your body in a matter of hours."

Vanderhoff encourages people to talk with their doctors who know their medical histories and can decide whether a specialty consult is needed.

Ferguson says her doctor is trying to find an outpatient toxicologist.

Eric Cozza says he is waiting on new test results.