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chem student here: taking a quick look at the actual chemical that's been spilled - vinyl chloride - and what happens to it when it's burned raises a shit ton of alarms, and this "event" is most certainly not going to be safe for a while - a ๐งต
vinyl chloride - written chemically as C2H3Cl - is a colourless compound that's used in making plastics. it has an extremely low flash point of -63 C (-73 F), is considered extremely hazardous to human health and any exposure to heat or water results in a violent reaction
elaborating on its danger to human and animal life, vinyl chloride is also highly carcinogenic: while the legal limit for exposure is 5 ppm within an 8 hour work day, it poses a significant risk of developing cancers under any level of exposure
in addition to cancers, it also induces dizziness, nausea, visual disturbances, extreme headaches and ataxia at 4000 ppm exposure - above 12000 ppm exposure can bring about cardiac arrhythmia, RADS and fatal respiratory failure.
but the worst shit happens when it catches fire
but the worst shit happens when it catches fire
when vinyl chloride undergoes combustion, it's always a violent process - but when it's over, it decomposes into carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride and phosgene. it's the last two that are the worrying parts, and why this is most definitely still dangerous
hydrogen chloride (HCl) is a gas which, upon contact with water vapours in the air, turns into hydrochloric acid (HCl aq). it has a pH of 1.1 - meaning exposure to it will corrode tissue; even short exposure can lead to blindness, severe burns and mouth, throat and stomach damage
phosgene (COCl2) is a gas that kind of smells like hay: historically it's been used by armies in WW1 and 2 as poison gas. it's dangerous to humans at 2 ppm of exposure and is primarily known for causing pulmonary edemas, hypoxia and, in high exposure, death after 2-3 days.
needless to say, a freight train's worth of burned vinyl chloride being released into the atmosphere is a whole lot worse than what is being reported. after only a few days there's already been mass animal death. this shit is not safe to return to after only a week.
@Jenne_RoW if you're that close i'd recommend staying inside if you can't stay elsewhere. regardless, i hope you stay safe
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