(The following article by Linda H. Lamb was posted on the State website on January 11.)
GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — Sometimes, in the aftermath of a tragedy, a simple thing can bring it all back — a simple thing like the sound of a train whistle.
That’s one of the cues that could trigger stress in the future for people in Graniteville, where the strain of deaths and displacement might mingle with physical effects of chlorine exposure after last week’s train wreck.
Louis Morris, 26, an Avondale Mills employee, felt burning pain in his chest after breathing in some chlorine fumes. He vomited and had trouble breathing. It reminded him of tear-gas exposure during his training with the Navy.
Now, “I feel pretty good,” he said Monday, adding, “I’m worried about the lasting effects.”
A small percentage of those exposed to the chlorine might develop chronic breathing problems, said Dr. Michael Haynes, a pulmonary/critical care specialist at University Hospital in Augusta.
“Even with severe exposure, most of these people will recover with no residual effects,” he said.
One of six facilities that handled cases after the Thursday accident, University Hospital screened 120 people, admitted 20 and, as of Monday, still had two in critical care, Haynes said.
Physical effects from chlorine exposure are worst in those who are elderly, are smokers or already had such ailments as asthma, Haynes said.
Chlorine gas is very soluble in water. When it comes in contact with moist tissues of the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs, it produces hydrochloric acid, which causes chemical burns.
“In very high concentrations, just two breaths can kill you,” Haynes said.
In fact, chlorine was an early chemical warfare agent, used by the Germans against Allied troops in 1915, said Charles Feigley, professor in the environmental health sciences department of USC’s Arnold School of Public Health.
“Just take a tank of chlorine when the wind is blowing toward the enemy,” he said. “You open it up and hope that the wind doesn’t change.”
The damage is done almost instantly. The same potent properties that make chlorine good for killing mildew or bleaching clothes make it corrosive in the body and potentially deadly.
Exposed to large amounts of chlorine for a prolonged period, a person’s upper airway might swell shut, causing death by suffocation. Or, the toxic effects of the gas could cause cardiac arrest, Haynes said: Deprived of oxygen, the heart stops.
Less serious exposure irritates the eyes, nose and throat, with such symptoms as hoarseness and cough. Those with chemical burns in their lungs might develop a sort of chemically-caused pneumonia, requiring treatment with oxygen and steroids.
For most of those treated after the train wreck, “their chances are very good for coming out of this with nothing but a bad memory,” Haynes said.
And counselors are already working to help residents for whom the bad memories of this disaster could lead to anxiety and depression.
Worsening their stress might be a new, frightening awareness that this type of accident could happen again, said Dean Kilpatrick, a psychology professor at the Medical University of South Carolina.
“The threat is probably going to be perceived by many people as continuing,” he said. “There are a lot of hazardous chemicals that are transported every single day along the same rail line.”
Thus, the train whistle could disturb people the way the sound of airplanes did after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said Kilpatrick, who co-authored a study on post-traumatic stress after those attacks.
“If it’s viewed as a once-in-a-lifetime thing — let’s say your house got hit by a meteor — it’s easier for people to say, ‘Well, I suppose it could happen again, but the odds are very, very low.’”
At least there’s no video footage of the train wreck or round-the-clock coverage to feed people’s anxiety. Kilpatrick’s 9/11 study, done in connection with the MUSC National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, speculated that continued coverage and images of 9/11 prolonged people’s suffering afterward.
Being displaced from their homes no doubt adds to people’s stress in Graniteville, Kilpatrick said. The fact that such evacuations are rare is another signal of how serious the situation is.
Ruth Edwards of Graniteville coughed frequently while speaking to a reporter Monday. Displaced from her Hester Street home, she stood in line at First Presbyterian Church, waiting to talk to a railroad representative about claims.
Edwards, 50, met with a counselor at a community meeting after the accident. In the stressful aftermath of their ordeal, she said, family members have been frustrated with the situation and irritable with each other.
The 9/11 tragedy and others, Kilpatrick said, have shown that most people are resilient.
Some, however, might find it helpful to talk about their experience and concerns. As a counselor in that situation, “you’re trying to provide some support and some emotional first aid,” Kilpatrick said.
Edwards worries about her difficulty sleeping and about lingering respiratory trouble.
“I already had asthma,” she said. “It just made my asthma worse. I just wish the cough would go away.”