U.S. averages one chemical accident every other day: report

Chemical accidents are happening across the United States with "striking regularity," The Guardian has warned after analyzing statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency and non-profit groups that track data.

According to at least one estimate, the accidents are occurring an average of every two days, reported the newspaper, which took a look at the statistics in the wake of the toxic train derailment earlier this month in East Palestine, Ohio. Ten of the cars were carrying vinyl chloride, which spilled onto the ground and erupted in a plume of smoke that forced community evacuations.

U.S. accidents analyzed by the newspaper included chemicals released in train derailments, truck crashes, pipeline ruptures or industrial plant leaks and spills.

There were more than 30 incidents in the first seven weeks of 2023 alone, according to the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters — about one every day and a half. Last year, the coalition tallied 188 incidents — up from 177 the previous year. The organization has counted more than 470 incidents since it began recording the accidents in April 2020.

The accidents varied widely in severity, but all involved dangerous chemicals, The Guardian noted.

Among one of the worst recent accidents, more than 100 people in Atchinson, Kansas, were treated for respiratory problems, and schools were evacuated, following a leak in a beverage manufacturing facility that created a chemical cloud over the town.

In December, a portion of the Keystone Pipeline in rural Kansas ruptured, flooding nearby land and waterways with 588,000 gallons of crude oil. The cost of the difficult cleanup — which is still ongoing — has been estimated at nearly $500 million.