DEC: Ohio chemical spill hasn’t impacted air quality in New York State

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — We’ve been getting a lot of questions about whether the air and water quality in Rochester was affected by the chemical spill after a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3.

In Ohio, officials intentionally released the toxic chemical vinyl chloride from five train cars to prevent an explosion, which harmed air and water quality in the town of East Palestine.

Officials with the New York State Mesonet Weather Monitoring system say they have not detected any abnormalities in the air. The state Department of Environmental Conservation agreed, saying it has observed no human impacts here from that disaster.

In a statement the DEC said:

“DEC takes impacts on state air quality very seriously, including those that occur outside of New York State with the potential for impacts within state borders. DEC is coordinating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to monitor any potential impacts to New York State from the derailment and fire in Ohio, which was approximately 90 miles south-southwest of New York’s border with Pennsylvania. No human health impacts have been reported at this time.”