(The following article by Sarah Jane Tribble was posted on the Charlotte Observer website on March 11.)
GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — More than two months after a train wreck spewed toxic chlorine fumes that killed nine and sent hundreds to area hospitals, the people of Graniteville say they are still scared.
The smell of chlorine lingers in parts of the small mill town and residents say they question the long-term effects those deadly fumes may have on people’s lives.
“We wonder about the health effects, but there is nothing substantiated,” said the Rev. Douglas Puckett, whose Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church remains closed because of chlorine contamination. “There are people still receiving medical care for their injuries.”
About 570 area residents went to doctors or hospitals after the January accident, said Thom Berry, spokesman with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The agency has interviewed about 300 area residents who sought medical help after the accident to review any health concerns.
“There’s a lot that we know and there’s a lot we may not know,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of research in the literature as to what is known about chlorine and what may be any long-term effects.”
State officials plan to be on hand for three community meetings, the first one this Saturday, to help answer questions and respond to concerns, Berry said.
While deadly in large doses, chlorine is commonly used in drinking water and in swimming pools as well as in industrial cleaners.
Symptoms from chlorine exposure and how long they last will vary depending on the length and intensity the person experienced as well as the physical health of the person before the incident, said Dr. Martin Belson, a medical toxicologist at the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health in Atlanta.
Most people will only feel scratchy eyes and sore throats for days while others could suffer asthma for a couple of months. People with intense exposure are at a risk of having ongoing problems, Belson said.
Charles Hilton, who grew up in Graniteville and plans to be on a panel at the meetings, said people are asking a wide range of questions. Some wonder if their lungs were permanently harmed, other people worry about their property values, and still others want to know if it’s safe to plant a vegetable garden.
Residents describe the chlorine smell as musky and stale. The town’s downtown volunteer fire department and an Episcopal church both are unusable because of damaged property and the overwhelming odor, residents say.
“It’s a very definite sense of awareness,” Hilton said.
The sound of the trains running through the center of town is also a constant reminder of the tragedy, he said.
More than 5,000 Graniteville residents evacuated the small textile town after a Norfolk Southern train slammed into a parked train, puncturing a tanker of chlorine. All residents have moved back home, officials said.
Still, more than 4,000 people have sought financial assistance from Norfolk Southern since the Jan. 6 train crash, said company spokesman Robin Chapman.
The company also faces 12 class-action lawsuits as well as some individual suits, Chapman said.
Phil Napier, chief of the Graniteville area volunteer fire department, said he hopes the planned meetings will help reveal the level of fear among people and whether the concerns are being fueled by lawyers.
Attorneys flocked to the community in the days following the wreck, meeting with residents in hotels and churches. Like the chlorine smell, the lawyers remain, Napier said.
“The lawyers are like dogs without dog catchers,” he said. “They’re running all over the place.”