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Did CDC Raise 'Lethal Exposure' Level of Vinyl Chloride Days Before Ohio Train Derailment?

A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023.

by Izz Scott LaMagdeleine, Feb. 24, 2023


 (DUSTIN FRANZ / Contributor via Getty)

Image courtesy of DUSTIN FRANZ / Contributor via Getty


On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Three days later, on Feb. 6, the company began a "controlled release" of the chemicals after fears of a large explosion began to grow.

After the crash, local residents and communities expressed health and environmental concerns. Viral videos and photographs spread claiming to show the crash and its aftermath, including videos of dead fish near the crash site. We analyzed those, and also checked claims made about how many people live in the larger region surrounding where the crash occurred, and how they might be impacted.

Here are the fact-checks we've written so far about the derailment. We'll add to this collection as related stories are published.


By Izz Scott LaMagdeleine

Izz Scott LaMagdeleine is a fact-checker for Snopes.

Did 5 Environmental Scientists Flying to East Palestine, Ohio, Die in Plane Crash?

Feb. 23, 2023

The plane reportedly was departing from Little Rock, Arkansas, on Feb. 22, 2023.

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Does 10% of the US Population Live in the Ohio River Basin?

Feb. 14, 2023

The site of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and subsequent chemical release is within ...

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Viral Video Catalyzed Right-Wing Politicization of Ohio Derailment

Feb. 17, 2023

The GOP blames the media and Biden for ignoring East Palestine. They weren't talking about it ei ...

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A striking aerial picture of the train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio was posted to Reddit.

Striking Photo of Ohio Train Derailment Posted to Reddit

Feb. 14, 2023

We were able to verify that the aerial picture was shot from above the train derailment that occ ...

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An aerial picture purportedly showed the view from a passenger airplane of black smoke filling the clouds down below from a controlled release of toxic fumes coming from the Ohio train derailment.

Does Photo Show Airplane View of Smoke Clouds from Ohio Train Derailment?

Feb. 16, 2023

We looked into the origins of a popular Reddit post that claimed to show a view of the disaster ...

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Are Videos of Dead Fish Near Ohio Train Derailment Real?

Feb. 14, 2023

Numerous videos of dead fish in a brook described as being near the Ohio train derailment and ch ...

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Dark black and blue clouds fill the frame. A power line runs through them. You can slightly see a tree on the bottom of the photo, as well as a house to the right.

About That Video Showing Ominous Clouds After the Ohio Train Derailment

Feb. 15, 2023

Does the video show toxic chemical clouds or ordinary mammatus storm clouds? We asked experts.

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and FEMA released a joint statement about the response to the Ohio train derailment.

DeWine and FEMA Issue Joint Statement About Ohio Train Derailment Response

Feb. 18, 2023

The joint statement was released on Friday night after news spread that FEMA had "turned down" O ...

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cdc - centers for disease control and prevention

Did CDC Raise 'Lethal Exposure' Level of Vinyl Chloride Days Before Ohio Train Derailment?

Feb. 24, 2023

"I'm not a conspiracy theorist," said one tweet, "but why did the CDC update their profile for v ...

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