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Call for questions: Environmental Toxicology! (Patreon)

Published:
2023-02-14 01:58:04
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Welp, we're finagling a bit of an urgent episode about the Ohio train derailment that happened last week, which released 5 cars' worth of vinyl chloride. We'll chat with an environmental toxicologist who explains how ecological hazards are handled, and how to respond to an emergency like this. 

What a week it's been, folks! But leave any Environmental Toxicology questions you might have below -- about Ohio or otherwise and we'll get to as many as we can!

Bring it,

Alie Von Podcast

Comments

Timmy H.

What updates to our current chemical distribution system are most needed to prevent this in the future?

Annalise De Young

How much time do we have before this is in the ground water? Is there a way to clean it up once it is in the ground water?

Jessica Kleist

Do we have sufficient population health data locally and nationally to be able to use as a baseline to study the implications of this going forward?

Emma

Do I really need to worry about microplastics from my clothes getting into the water and air?

RJ Doidge

So…how totally fucked is the region where the spill happened? What kind of long term effects might we expect?

Rachel Kline

What is the best course of action for regular folks to take to ensure we can fight for our environment? Like are there certain house/senate bills we should/should not support? Orgs to support? Etc. What do we do as the world literally burns around us?

David Taffner

Too many questions. Thanks to you and you oologist.

Quincey Robisheaux

If you could put oil executives behind bars, what percentage of them would be in jail right now?

Sara Edgar

First time question asker... how far has the biggest toxic spill gone??

Ali Vessels

Im learning about CERCLA and Superfund right now on one of my classes. I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether you think these are still useful, or how you'd like to see them improved?

Average_pi

Does the toxic stuff get sucked into the soil, and will it end up in food that way? Can we ever get the toxic stuff out of the environment once it is in there?

Emily MacLeod

In relation to the Ohio problem, why did they decide to do a burn and release a toxin into the air when it was more contained as a spill rather than in the atmosphere?

Ted Vician

How do experts categorize these sorts of incidents? By amount and type of material? Number of people affected? Is there a scale, like for hurricanes or earthquakes?

Erin Knapp

What are common hazards in our everyday life and how can we avoid them/decrease their overall impact

Kendall M

Do micro plastics fall under the environmental toxicology umbrella? If so, what’s the big deal about them? I see headlines everywhere about them and forever chemicals but never read further into them to try and prevent myself from doom scrolling.

Stephanie Schmid-Falcon

I’ve got a couple. 1. How should citizens prepare for this kind of ecological disaster? 2. Is there a way for the public to know their proximity to these kinds of rail shipments so that they know whether they should prepare?

CoffeeLeaf90

How can we as everyday people determine or learn about the fallout from incidents like this so we can be best prepared even if officials say it's all clear?

Kathryn Brignac

Would love to hear more about PFAS in waterways and how much we really need to worry.

Tony Mayabb

Does varying the type of place you live; rural vs urban, for example, help decrease exposure to any specific carcinogen? Could this be a strategy to help mitigate cancer risk?

Buhbrie

Was there really no other method of disposal than the controlled release? How long will this impact the area? What can be done in the future to prevent this from happening again?

Timmy H.

How can we hold the government accountable for large chemical disasters like this and other similar events?

Kayla Pilcher

What's something we can do in our personal/every day lives to help?Sometimes the big picture is overwhelming doom shit, I'd like to do anything really haha. (First time question asker after YEARS of listening!! ❤️)

Liliana Ramirez

Which kingdom (plant, animal, fungi) might be most in trouble, and any more specific group in particular (is some random paramecium or moss going to really take a hit?)

Kyle Harper

How far reaching can a cloud of dangerous chemicals travel before it dissipates?

Cate Muenker

Have there been any new types of bacterial remediation discovered lately?

Jackie

What sorts of data would be needed to actually determine when it’s safe to people to return to an area after a disaster like east Palestine? How long would it take to collect that data?

Cnidarian Knight

What chemicals are most harmful/stay in the environment the longest?

Rose C.M

What’s your opinion about Nuclear Energy? Also, do you think we can ever find a truly sustainable and eco-friendly way of living?

Rebecca Goerling

First-time question asker and native Ohioan here! Are there any options available to us in regard to planting specific vegetation in order to mitigate pollutants in the soil? Can I do some good by getting some leafy boys in the ground??

Kristina Weaver

What are the long term health consequences for those living in East Palestine? Will folks be better off if they abandon the town all together? Also I live in Columbus and wonder if people living here or in Cleveland or Pittsburgh will be negatively affected.

Between Dumplings

It’s so clear we cannot simply swim in the “no peeing” part of the pool. Look at the news on antibiotic resistance. How long will these chemicals stay in the soil in OH? Are there limits or safeguards on these producers of death and their ability to run their cargo through residential areas? What’s Pete B got to say about this? I think we are done for. But I got my brand new grand nephew an Ologies onesie so at least he’ll stay curious.

Mykenzie King

I’m not sure if it falls under this episode but where does hazardous waste like from a doctors office or a chemical plant end up and how does that effect the environment?

Frances Hurst Brubaker

I'm scared of microplastics, what can I do to reduce my contribution to microplastic pollution and how can I protect myself and others from ingesting them. Also, when moving to a new house, how do you tell if the soil is safe for a vegetable garden so that you don't grow vegetables in lead contaminated soils? Are there ways to test for contamination yourself or do you usually have to pay for it to be done?

Katie Wood

What is the effect on pregnant people in the area? Like say 100 mile radius. Are there any informational resources they can bring to their doctor to inform their care going forward?

Chad Neu

Joining the Citizen's Climate Lobby and then calling your representatives are the easiest things everyday folks can do. CCL sends out regular updates(usually weekly) on what is happening, what bills to support, the latest environmental news, etc. There are also local chapters that push for state and municipality changes.

Anna Thompson

I keep hearing it referred to as "Chernobyl like". I know it's bad but am I being clickbaited with that term or is it really that level of bad?

Shannon Siegel

I know there are sites designated by the government as I think super sites where they have significant environmental concerns. Are these sites easy to deal with/clean up or are they larger concerns we need to deal with sooner rather than later?

L. Wink

From a scale of zen calm to screaming my head off each day how worried should I be about the air all around us?

Kells

Are there cases of environmental toxins breaking down and becoming more toxic or combining with other things in the environment to become more toxic?

Paul Smith

To what degree does burning hazards actually dissipate them? I see the big cloud of smoke and I can't imagine it just dilutes in air enough to be harmless

Emily Palin

What is the method of communication/ chain of action amongst public health officials working in environmental health during the disaster? who are the stakeholders and who is the potential party at fault for the disaster? How will potential longterm effects on the environment and population be addressed?

Adam Silk

I second this one. I'm curious.

Anna Thompson

How common are events like Ohio? I live in a high rail area and am wondering if I need a go bag, evacuation plan in the back of my (anxiety riddled) brain

James Nance

A similar situation happened when I was a kid in Knoxville, TN. There was a train wreck and toxic chemicals were released in the air, so we had to evacuate our home for a few days. To kill time and take our minds off things, my parents decided to take us to see a random movie: My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I've never laughed so hard in the theater! It's still one of my favorite movies. What current movie would you recommend people go see if they had to evacuate because of a toxic chemical train crash?

Autumn Mitchell

How far can the chemicals that were released from the derailment spread? How could the company responsible possibly think that 25,000$ is enough compensation?

Rachel Gentile

What should the railways have been doing to prevent this and what could have they done better in their response?

Frances Hurst Brubaker

Also, for radioactive environmental hazards what can be done? How do you protect from nuclear waste or radiation in an event like what almost happened at Three Mile Island or what happened at Chernobyl? What mitigation happens in those situations?

Potato Puffer

How common are these types of spills? Have there been way more that just didn’t get the same level of coverage?

Joel Henderson

How do you determine background levels of enviro toxins? What percentage of toxins in transit are inspected for proper handling? Is an acre of forest environmentally toxic if it has poisonous critters in it?

Adam Silk

I've heard that you get more radiation exposure living beside a coal power plant than a nuclear power plant and the coal plant pollutes in more ways. In a similar vein, is there any industry people are scared of that they shouldn't be, or one they should be way more scared of?

Antonia Clark

What are their thoughts on the current incentives for companies to be more responsible? It seems like they just get a small fine they pay with their mega profits. Destroying the environment is just cost of business 😭

riley axel

what are the long term effects not only for the area, but for the rest of the environment?

Emily Staw-fur

PFAS seems to be popping up in the news more and more. Was there something specific that caused this to become a big conversation? How worried should we be? And is there truly nothing that can be done to remove them?

Cas Marie

In regards to the train incident. Is there a concern about toxins getting into the storm water system and infiltrating into a downstream outlet? Are there any aquifers nearby that are at risk for contamination? What can be done to clean this water if so.

Cara B

This crisis is horrible for this town. Do we know how this is going to affect other areas? We are burning chemicals into the air, where is the air taking them? I know people are not being let back into their houses locally around the incident. How can others prepare that are not as local for effects that could possibly reach them?

Finlay

how does a toxic disaster like this effect wildlife around the site?? are we gonna see in several years some bizarre looking rabbits or something…will it happen even sooner??

Nicole Kleinman

So there are a lot of big chemical words used that I don’t understand. Can you dumb things down, so I can better understand what happened and why it’s a disaster?

Allegra Favila

First time question asker here! What, exactly, is the truth about microplastics??

Ashley Oki

Is it known how the effect of something like this compares to the exposure of a long-term toxic substance, such as plastics, and should we be worried about long-term exposure to these substances? Are resources being proportionally distributed to mitigate immediate emergencies compared to long-term, less obvious substances?

Paige

Probably a silly question, but what determines whether or not something is an environmental emergency as far as toxicology? Is there a certain level of toxicity that has to enter the environment or is it more based on the chemicals themselves or both or a secret third thing?

Ashley Oki

It has been reported that a lot of these spills get covered up by oil companies and other people with vested interest. Thoughts? Is it true?

Anna Thompson

Why does Chicken Run hold such a stranglehold on my childhood memories of movies?

Kelly Shaver

With the government trying to keep people from panicking and trying to keep Wall Street and banks happy, who should we be looking to for accurate information? Who can we trust when things like this happen?

Amber McIntyre

How do you determine/quantify a ‘toxic’ level of a particular substance for the environment?

Kieran C.

What’s the most difficult part, on your end/in your experience, of a hazmat response? Determining what chemicals are present, figuring out how they’ll interact/how to mitigate the scene, deciding how to relay that information to the public with sufficient urgency (if needed, such as in Ohio) while not causing panic (if possible), etc.? It seems like such a fast response from the outside, but I imagine seeing it from the other side is much different.

Doug Koekkoek

How do you estimate winds at various altitudes to determine plume direction and dispersion? How do you take into account the weight of various particles and the effects of gravity on them when determining how far they will travel and what potential contamination levels will be?

Leah Anderson

Cat litter is often used to clean up toxic spills. How does that work and what is done with the toxic litter once a spill is cleaned up?

Jennifer Piacente

First time question asker! What precautionary measures are typically taken to ensure to these types of disasters don’t happen more often?

Attacusatlas

Two questions: 1. I know nuclear power has a lot of issues, but I'm curious about your guest's perspective on it. Nuclear power produces ZERO greenhouse gas emissions, and, despite the awful accident at Cherynobyl, it's one of the least deadly sources of energy, causing 1 premature death every 33 years, versus coal (25 early deaths/year), oil (18 early deaths/year), and natural gas (3 early deaths/year). So, my question is, is nuclear waste manageable enough to make nuclear power a good energy choice (to be used in combination with renewables), or is the toxic waste too much of a liability for the future? I've heard that the waste from small modular reactors would actually not take up that much space; is that a viable route for the future? 2. Can we expect to see more issues in environmental toxicity with climate change? What kinds of problems could arise from a warming planet and more extreme weather, and what can individuals and governments do to prepare for them?

Doug Koekkoek

This was a first time question BTW.

Meg Shooter

How far has the research come in terms of fungi being able to help clean up a disaster like this and is it widely implemented or still in the developmental stage?

Amelia Frank

How do we add up the impact of all of these “Silent Springs” we have created - and if there is a way, are we doing it and does anyone with power seem to care? And if not, how can we make them? And also, just a general scream of panic…

Pinot Noir

Can this truly ever be reversed? How long can this remain in soil, plants or any other surface?

Brandi Harbaugh

How often would someone who is an environmental toxicologist work with an environmental engineer? How does the field of environmental engineering affect the toxicology world? How much are we polluting the air post Covid? Is it back to pre-Covid levels, or would you say that we are less toxic to our air quality than before?

Kelowna Ostwald

What’s the latest on micro plastics? Also shipwrecks—how bad are they for our oceans? Also also, how concerned should we be about endocrine disrupters being leaked into the environment (from both a human and ecological standpoint)? (Kel-oh-nah, she/her)

Doug Koekkoek

Can’t wait to hear you try my name.

Caroline Clancy

Is there anything I can do at home to protect myself from disasters like this, or are we completely at the mercy of whoever is in charge of this??

Chandler Witherington

Can you talk about superfund sites? Also there is a man made lake near me (Lake Crabtree in North Carolina) that has PCBs from 15 years worth of runoff buried under the sediment from years ago. You’re not allowed to take fish from the lake. Is it safe for my dog to go in the water?

Ayshia Yaeger

How long will it take for our land to recover from what happened in Ohio? Is there even hope of recovery? "Asia" they/them!

Rob Hover

What can be done about previously ubiquitous forever chemicals like PFAS? Has there been any progress on scalable methods for cleaning them up?

Bel Jensen-Hill

What might have delayed the epa water testing results and are issues like that common?

Miranda Harter

I learned that I live in a county with over 20 Super Fund sites (yikes!) including one about 2 miles from my house. I also live near/under the flight paths of a military air base (do they still use leaded jet fuel?), so on a scale of 1-10 how worried should I be?

Abby

What causes harmful algal blooms? Are there any specific conditions that make the toxic bacteria grow?

Kim Hamlin

Growing up in West Virginia close to multiple chemical plants, our school system was required to run drills every year in the case of a chemical spill. Do you know what percentage of rural or low income Americans are within a potential "affected area" of chemical plants? And were the plants constructed in these areas to reduce the numbers of those potentially affected by a spill or because those areas had the least pushback?

Kelowna Ostwald

Can you talk about the connection between environmental toxicology and environmental justice? (Kel-oh-nah, she/her)

TJ Mckenna

As an Ohio resident, how can we see this affecting our river and ground water supplies? Will these chemicals ever be truly removed from the environment?

Benedict Pagac

When you read about the field of Environmental Toxicology (for example, the Wiki page), the overtly nasty stuff like pesticides, PCBs, and heavy metals are prominently mentioned, but micro-plastics aren't; or if so, barely. Are they getting the attention they deserve? Ben Pagac (pronounced "Pay-Jack")

Tammy Hansen Snell

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality chose to let an ethanol plant near Mead, owned by a company named AltEn, use chemically-treated seed corn (given to it free by seed companies that didn’t want the expense of destroying it!) to make ethanol instead of field corn. To avoid public knowledge of this change in the company’s plan, the department that’s supposed to be the protector of people, land, and water labeled AltEn’s decision a “minor” change, one not requiring public notice. Now, the company is out of business, people are ill, wells and natural water sources are contaminated, and who knows how far the poison reaches. Since the residual solids of ethanol production from seed corn cannot be used as animal feed because of its toxic contents, immense amounts of toxic solid and liquid waste sit waiting to be dealt with, including a pile reportedly large enough to fill a football-field 150-feet deep, with no liner at all underneath it. My question: Is there any way to track the damage done by the company and their government enablers, or do the toxins identifiable as being from the pesticides and herbicides in the seed break down too much to be traced back to them when later found in groundwater? I love Ologies and appreciate Alie soooo much!!

Maria Kumro

Why isn't this bigger news? Why does it feel like it's being hidden from us?

Sivvy

Could the site of the Ohio train derailment end up as a Superfund site? Would it be a brownfield site?

Greg Walloch

How bad is phthalate exposure in household and personal care items? Are we fucked?

Doctor (almost!) Elder

I hear the air in LA is way better today than it was back in the 90’s. Is that true? It doesn’t seem all that bad compared to some other areas.

Kristen Fuller

Is the amount of micro plastics/forever chemicals outpacing us and going to kill us all?

Daniel Douglas

First time question asker here (long time listener)! Are there any specific compensation strategies, financial or otherwise, currently set up to support individuals and communities affected by disasters like these?

Jennifer Anderson

Do we see changes in amphibian populations due to waste water and hormonal contamination to freshwater spawning sites?

Ella Sugerman

What are the predictions for long-term health outcomes for people who were at the site of the derailment and for the folks living nearby? Are there any interventions that can be taken at this point?

Heather E Stewart

I live in a blue collar neighborhood that was built in the early-mid 20th century over sites that were used for heavy industry in the Victorian to post-Edwardian era - steelworks and railway related stuff. My city has a map of "contaminated areas" that supposedly ends across the street from us. We garden and find all kinds of weird old bricks and glass in the soil. How can people test their soil for contaminants, and how can they mitigate that in small-scale gardening?

Jenna Palermo

foreign news outlets are comparing this to chernobyl… is that just some good ol’ fake news or do they have a point?

Rachel von Morrigan

My only question was: What the fuck? You guys are nailing it with the specifics.

Natalie J

I’ve seen videos of lots of dead fish floating in the creek near the spill. What happens to aquatic life when these disasters happen? Are the dead animals disposed of or left in the environment and if so what kind of threat does that pose to nearby life including humans? Also how screwed are the people nearby and can they do anything to protect their health during this disaster?

Bees knees

Two things can be true at once . . .

Mary Concannnon

What advice do you have for advocates in an area where the EPA hesitates to take action? I’m in St. Louis, where there is a huge landfill where toxic waste was illegally dumped in WWII. It’s right next to an underground fire and the combo of fire and these chemicals will be disastrous to say the least. The neighborhoods nearby this landfill already have a higher prevalence of cancer and respiratory illness. For anyone interested there is a documentary called Atomic Homefront on HBO Max

Hannah Nuest

Are there any particular laws that relate most to those emergency type situations? Would that be more RCRA or TSCA or something else?

curly fry

What precautions are put into place to keep things like this from happening, and what more could we be doing to prevent it?

Mary Concannnon

How do microplastics come into play in environmental toxicology?

Cassidy Blair

I live in Cincinnati, how worried should I be about the incoming air quality?

Katherine Fox

True or False: The solution to pollution is dilution.

curly fry

What are the effects of disasters like these on wildlife habitats and what can we do to help?

tangygnat

Are there things we're too afraid of that have robust disposal and mitigation measures? Is there stuff we're not afraid of enough? Are there consumer items where the trade off is not worth it (thinking how wet wipes went from useful for babies to being marketed as flushable wipes everyone must have to be truly clean, meanwhile destroying plumbing)

Jessie Pearce

How can we help heal the community without knowing the full extent of the damage? And how do we progress that science to know better next time, without the support of government + corrupt companies that control it?

Trevor Hagedorn

What are some state and federal regulations that should be enacted to hold companies responsible for cleaning up spills and job site accidents?

tangygnat

Is the fact White Noise was filmed in this town proof there is no God or that there is a God and they have a toxic sense if humor (yes that word choice was on purpose and yes I'm ashamed)

Bees knees

I think a more appropriate response would be should it be. I know government/corporate collusion is a thing.

Chris Brewer

Are trains fairly safe to transport toxic chemicals? Should we worry about future accidents or possible sabotage?

Melanie Ang

(FTQA) Seeing as there has been countless oil spills (reported and not) as well as things like forever chemicals and chemical fertilisers used in growing our food being washed into the waters, how toxic is our water system and the ocean?

Maddy Otto

It's hard to go more than a couple days without hearing about another Dangerous Chemical or other toxin that's going to give us all cancer or otherwise kill us off. Do you have any everyday-person tips for navigating these topics? Are there any low hanging fruit lifestyle changes that the average person should endeavor to make, for their own health or the world's health?

Sara Edgar

They started the fire? I didn't even question and thought it was just a combustion

AJ Gray

I wonder a **lot** about landfills and environmental toxins. There’s no way they aren’t silently leaching out toxins into the ground and air, right? And what happens when, say, an earthquake hits a landfill? Are they just environmental toxin land mines?

Gabe Knuth

All those CFL bulbs that we bought 10 years ago are now in landfills while LED lighting has taken over. Have there been any studies on the impact of the mercury that’s said to be inside of them? Or does the limited run that CFL bulbs had minimize the potential problem? (BTW, my last name is pronounced Ka-nooth 😀)

Wandering Wyatt

I think I know the answer but how screwed are we? What does science say about the long term impacts of spills, etc?

Lisa Baik

Are there any common environmental toxins we don’t know about, but should?

Joe Porfido

Are there bacteria or other organisms that have adapted to live off of our toxic waste?

Alia Myers

What's the one thing we could do to have the biggest positive impact re: environmental toxins?

tangygnat

What industry standards/certifications mean something? Which are just green washing and do not mean anything of substance?

Esohn

Can fungi save us? I’ve heard they make great toxic sponges

Anna Eeeee

is it true humans have micro plastics in them now due to plastic pollution??

Sarah Garcia

First time! I live in East LA, in the middle of 4 freeways. Often lower SES communities have soil that's toxic. Is it safe to eat food that's grown from the soil? The parrots love the guavas and avocados so at least they're not wasted, but it would be rad to be able to eat them without worrying if I'm just putting more toxins in my body. Is it possible to detox the soil? Alie, Thank you for helping me be less depressy & generally making life better ♥︎

David Villafranco

Is there a better way to do landfills, just how much of our trash can we actually recycle to avoid land contamination

Sydonie S.

What testing goes into determining if something is an environmental toxin?

Emily P

There was a warehouse fire near my house when I was a kid and we were instructed to close the windoes, put wet towels under the doors and there was also something about air conditioning (on? off? I can't remember). Let's be real, what was going on with the air? and would any of these steps really help?

Heather & Kate

What can be done to combat the cycle of cover up + blame shifting that delays meaningful action being taken when a company creates or contributes to toxic contamination? Unless we start paying companies for their basic and prompt honesty, it’s hard to imagine a world where fuck ups like this are handled optimally?

Sarah Rhodes

What is super impactful toxin that we should know about but most people don't?

Emily P

How. Do. We. Clean. This???

Charlie

When we put grit onto the roads in the UK is that causing damage to the environment? Is the amount of cleaning products like bleach we use in our homes and workplaces causing damage to the environment faster than it can deal with them?

Noel Dietz

Are there safer ways to transport these materials? And, if so, what are they and why aren't they required as a standard practice?

Nicole Austin

Are the impacts of these types of toxins well understood? I can’t imagine a proper study that would ever duplicate these types of conditions. Do we really know much at all?

Ruthifer

(FTQA) Are there any proactive things I could be doing to work toward a cleaner planet and/or help combat feeling hopeless about things like forever chemicals and microplastics?

Marijke Decuir

Should I care if there are PFAS in period underwear? Or other products I use but don’t consume in large quantities

Alaina Cruson

Does the bacteria (I think?) That eats waste and oils work and not cause other problems? Like an invasive species?

Shoshana Belle

First time! 1. How do you measure risk and what’s at stake (for human, animal, plant communities) when conducting an environmental impact assessment? 2. Is there a way to de-led soil? (And does lead contaminate sugar maple sap??)

Alicia Henning

How messed up is our world, and can we fix it? Is it too late to clean up?

Courtney Carey

In your opinion, what are some of the worst environmental disasters in history that you don’t believe have had enough attention and activism around them?

Anna Elizabeth

i live in cleveland which is about 80 miles from the derailment, but i think most of our water comes from lake Erie. how worried do we need to be about these chemicals contaminating the great lakes? i know they are upstream from the derailment but there is stuff burning off into the atmosphere too.

NanoNaturalist

So I'm a chemical engineer and I want to know who in the FRESH HELL decided it was okay to set VINYL CHLORIDE on fire. (I live in Ohio can you tell I'm mad?)

Kelsy Simpson

Are there better clean up options for chemical spills? What is the potential fallout/damage from the event that just occurred in Ohio?

Jen

How badly are we screwed? No really? Should we expect acid rain? Also, are we looking at the next Flint, Michigan water disaster, should I get a quality water filter for my water?

Julie Dupre

Should I be quadruple filtering my drinking water?

Ashley E

Drug disposal… how much ends up in our water? Do they ever break down? (Asking as an icu nurse who cringes every time i see IV drugs dumped down the drain)

Julie Dupre

How are lawn fertilizers legal when we know how bad they are for our water supplies? I remember growing up in the 90s and the smell in the south Mississippi River was awful. I was told it was from fertilizers and the heat combining.

Annmarie Everhart

First time question asker: What is the process of properly disposing of contaminated soil? Is there additional filtration or chemical cleaning/neutralization or is it just dumped into a landfill?

Dara

Where does pollution go? How do we 'rehabilitate' bad air?

Rachel Weisz

What kinda of things should we be more concerned about the long term effects of living next too than we already are? I know we know certain things created cancer clusters or birth defects, but what should we be looking toward next? For example, I grew up in the PNW within a mile of 5 oil refineries, and there’s always a little community muttering about the long term effects about it, but I’ve never seen anything certain.

Andrea Devlin

Is diluted bleach actually harmful to the environment?? A lot of professional painters want to wash the outside of a house with diluted bleach before painting and I can't help but worry about the plants and other living creatures nearby.

Jessie Dragon

Is there anything we can do locally/by ourselves to help the environment?

Jess Loeffler

Do we have any reasonable idea how much landmass or how much area in the US is contaminated or dangerously contaminated? What does dangerous contamination look like for plants, animals, and humans? How much of is is contaminated by private citizens/communities/cities and how much of it is corporations (or gov't agencies like the DOD)?

Jeffrey Katz

Is Glyphosate really bad? What does the science say?

Jackie

Second!

Pavka34

A bit off topic, but to what degree will the recent labor agreement forced on rail workers ensure there will be more accidents like this, until freight rail in the US collapses.

Amy Narimatsu

This isn't the first and certainly won't be the last environmental disaster to happen. Put simply: how fucked are we in dealing with future disasters like this? The lack of media attention, lack of honest communication to the public, and the gaslighting of local residents is sickening and I really think it's just a stark example of how these events will be handled in the future

Jackie

Second, WHY set the vinyl chloride on fire? (What might someone have been hoping to avoid? And why issues does setting it in fire cause?)

Becks Woodruff

How large an area is likely to be affected by the Ohio spill? And for how long if the chemicals seep into the soil and/or water?

Stephanie Coombes

What are your thoughts on issues like Environmental racism, and how areas with high toxicity are often close to areas inhabited by poorer/people of colour/indigenous neighbour hoods? Like “there is something in the water”. How can we advocate for protection for communities who were usually forced to live in “undesirable” locations?

Mushroom Morgan

Do we have any idea how this spill will affect human development, like how lead had lasting affects on people's brains?

Marxe Orbach

Is there any way to dispose of waste without releasing a ton of toxins into the environment? And what can be done to reduce the use of forever chemicals?

Brittany Kaufman

How long does contamination like this last, especially in everyone’s drinking water?

Your New Favorite Animal Podcast

Could this spill affect water quality in Lake Erie, The Ohio River or aquifers? How far can the contamination spead?

Hope

how close do you think the leaching of pharmaceuticals into the environment via sewer systems is to causing problems? i know there has already been evidence of that in some fish, what could be some repercussions of that continuing?

The Project Project

Not a question, but the Well There's Your Problem Podcast (a Leftist podcast about engineering disasters; with slides) did an episode about the modern American rail-transport system a couple months ago. According to the host, Justin (civil engineer and massive train nerd) this sort of thing is doomed to happen **and will continue to happen** until legislators step in. Question? Sure. Why not. "How do we deal with knowing we are all fucked due to corporate greed and lassitude?"

Jimmy Jones

Why does it seem so easy for big companies like Norfolk to deflect blame to a bazillion other things?? Is time for clean up lost when nobody knows who or what's accountable?

Vanessa Marshak

How far into the earth does an iil spill travel?

Johanna Burr

How did you feel about the recent movie (based on the novel) White Noise? This accident seems eerily similar to the plot...

Allison

FTQA. Clearly this is a serious issue, but there's a lot of misinformation going around. (Been seeing a lot of fearmongering 'the next Chernobyl!' type things on social media, or a watershed map marked as a drinking water source map going viral). How bad is this actually in the long term, would this be a potential superfund? Or will most of this degrade into other chemicals before long? How do we handle misinformation and panic around these kinds of events?

Julie Scott

FTQA. What are the top 10 ways we can reduce our “environmental toxin footprint”? And what are the top 10 ways we can reduce the amount of toxins we ingest? And this might not be your field of expertise, but do cleanses really help reduce the toxins in our system?

Erin Knapp

Also a FTQA and very excited to be “in the know” with everyone’s good questions!! ❤️

Camille Eckel

How far away do people need to be concerned? How was this even able to happen? What are the precautions to prevent this? Most importantly: how do we stop it from happening again.

Specs Owl

Why are some disasters cleaned up and others aren't? I'm thinking of Bhopal in India that still causes health issues in local people.

Specs Owl

*Im not sure if this question is related to the subject or not* When I was studying countryside management at college, I was told that just one teaspoon of dairy can destroy the ecosystem in a river. Is this true, and if so, how?

Fiorelily

We always hear about concerns over toxic chemicals leeching into the groundwater. But if the groundwater is constantly circulating and welling up over time, how long would the groundwater remain polluted? Does mother nature have her own douche when her bits get punky?

Fiorelily

Also, ppl with vageenas should use plain old water to freshen things up. Just a PSA

Michelle Zentgraf

I am so excited for this topic! Thank you for doing this. Here's my question: We have created and introduced so many potentially toxic chemicals into our environment. While they are tested for safety individually and in limited combinations with each other, they are not (and couldn't possibly be) tested for toxicity in all possible permutations. How can we hope to remediate their effects on the planet and its inhabitants? Are we just totally screwing ourselves? Is this going to be our demise? Sorry for the doomsday vibe, but I spent 5 years doing ETOX and it gets under your skin- literally. Thanks , Dad Ward!

Hezy Anholt

It seems that most enviro toxicology research would have to be cross-sectional and with many variables and confounders. Is that the case? How do you deal with this? Is it frustrating?

Kata Zarándy

What's the biggest disaster a single House hold can cause?

Isabel Vaz

Which country has the best safety mechanisms/guidelines in place to prevent or address ecological disasters? - first time q asker

Alexandre Catulle

What is done with the polluted ground? Just put in a landfill? Isn't that just delaying the issue? And are there living thing capable of cleaning poluants? and are they, mushrooms or bacterias, being used to help treat infected material?

Victoria Felt

Not a question, but I’d love to hear a little bit about how the drying of terminal lakes affects the ecology around it from the POV of a toxicologist. I just moved away from my home in Salt Lake because of the drying Great Salt Lake. We constantly worried about the social effects of now-airborne heavy metals that had laid dormant under the lake for years, yet I haven’t considered how those toxins affect the natural ecosystem.

Euan Munro

I know a bit about this from colleagues but it's not totally my area. One thing I've heard before is about how great clay is for being impermeable. How true is that? Also does clay just have good permeability for water, so can some chemicals pass through it fairly easily?

Kristina Kunze

How long does soil contamination last? We aren’t supposed to flush pills down the toilet, how does that effect our water supply if one were to do so? How has the contamination levels changed from 50 years ago to now, with so many more unnatural products in our daily lives?

Earl of Greymalkin

1) How much do average people not know about how much waste is being released into the environment, how close to homes? 2) How is radioactive waste handled (as from energy production) and does it ever leak into the environment? 3) What is required to compile a legal basis for suing companies for releasing compounds (deliberately or accidentally) that cause harm? Is there precedent for cases like this? (Asking for Ohio.) 4) How much do we blame capitalism for all the things? 5) What kinds of hazards are tested for in things like tap water (and what may not be tested for that still might be bad)? 6) What have been the worst environmental toxicology disasters and what were the effects? 7) How do hazardous waste streams work? Where do all the harmful things go? Do they go to indefinite chemical jail somewhere?

Emily

What environmental toxins should gardeners be aware of when choosing a site and materials for vegetable beds?

Arnold Jamtart

Does vinyl chloride yield, like, a more authentic poisoning than a digital chloride?

Scarlet P

Is there any publicly available information souce where you can learn about all known environmental toxins/hazards/contaminated sites in your city or region?

BatRachy

What action can we as members of the public do to reduce impact of water companies pouring our sewage into natural waterways (as well as chemical waste, wash-off of farming chemicals and slurry?), beyond lobbying government and local councils to take action? I'm in the UK and pollution through dumping of sewage and wash-off is killing waterways & land that had only really recently started to recover from decades of industrial pollution. My friends and I feel helpless in the face of big companies who influence government policies.

Marie

Why do we have different water standards when it comes to drinking water? I always hear that i cant drink tap water in certain countries due to bacteria. Why do some have so different bacteria standard in their water. And is it healthy when the us have so much chlorine in it?

Marie

Is plastics in the soil as much of a problem that it is in water? Will we see in the future that everything contains microplastics?

Nicole L

What can we do to help when an event like this happens? Is there anyway to aid cleansing the area, or do people just have to wait until it dissipates? I'm sorry if that's a silly question, i just got here! (love the pod!)

theWhollyGhost

Exactly how fucked are we with all the plastic hanging around in our environment?

Matt Ceccato

And how strong does a cardboard sleeve protect us from vinyl chloride? (I haven’t had any coffee yet today…)

Lena Gwen

How much influence do I have as an individual vs. how much depends on the action of politics and big companies? (First time question asker :) )

Evan Villavicencio

What are some everyday things that I might be doing that I don’t even realize are releasing toxins into the environment? Recently found out a lot of shampoo has plastic in it and am wondering if there’s any other sneaky stuff like that

Chris West

Are y’all aware of the ‘only in Ohio trend’ on TikTok? On a more serious note, surely these events have a long lasting impact on the biodiversity and animals in that area; does that area turn into a desolate wasteland or?

MB

As someone in the Ohio river basin, how concerned about drinking water quality should I be?

Asha Dermer

Has environmental damage increased or decreased since covid? What can we shift in everyday life to improve environmental health?

Eleonoora

I’ve seen the Ohio train derailment called the “American Chernobyl.” How accurate is that?

Daniel Donaldson

What is type of event/situation keeps you up at night dreaming of losing teeth?

Isabelle Leclerc

Environnemental legislation, how does it differ I'm different countries (I'm Canadian, so how is it in Canada vs US vs Europe)? How robust are the laws and oversight? Are big companies not adhering to them consistently prosecuted, or do they often get away with it? And how critical is legislation to protecting the environment from toxic spills, events, etc?

Ross Banerjee

First time questioner: Is there any organism that can eat our environmental waste? Is there any enzyme that can be manufactured to chemically “digest” our waste? Could bacteria be genetically modified to digest our waste?

Claire Netto

How badly is this going to impact our food production system? I know the midwest is a very agricultural area. **1st time question asker**

The other Ally

For about a decade there was a plan to bury nuclear waste deep underground near Lake Huron. It caused a lot of controversy in my area and the plans were abandoned. Do we have a "better" way to deal with this kind of waste, that has less environmental impact or will it ikely just end up buried in a different location?

AlyssaMalyssa

Is there an organism that surprised you with how affected it currently is versus how impacted it was in recent years? Be it one that was doing ok and took a turn for the worse, or one you were concerned for that seems to be going for break up revenge population statistics because damn she looks good, she looks real good?

AlyssaMalyssa

Yes, please! Something more actionable than petitions and adult beverages, preferably.

ALopez

How far has the contamination spread? I've heard different sources say the levels are safe and others say the contamination has spread to the water supply.

Wells Howe

Is there any hope to address the dreaded juggernaut of PFAS contamination in the environment??

Robin Kuehn

Whenever they propose some new oil pipeline, they love to tout safety records. Do pipelines ever NOT spill? Are trains safer? I watch the oil trains run down the banks of the Hudson all the time and worry.

Courtney Jones

How do we figure out what are our local environmental toxicology issues? What should we be fighting for at the local level?

Tatiana Estrada

What are some toxic chemicals that are not being monitored/controlled by government agencies but academic research has recommended to be monitored?

Anne-Sophie

If given an infinite budget, what contaminant would the Ologist love the world / people to get a PSA campaign about (aside from plastic, we should all know that one by now!)?

Kelsey Larson

With these kind of spills, how different are safety levels for humans and other species? If scientists say it’s safe for me, does it mean it’s also safe for my cat or dog?

Bob Keeney

We've heard about 'forever chemicals' that are very dangerous to humans. How do we dispose of those chemicals? Can we even do that? Are there hazards to even attempting to dispose of them?

Amanda

Is Dawn dish soap actually used in oil spills or is that just for the commercials?

Hannah Bean

Is this an issue that will have to be handled via state or federal government? Is there anything small towns and villages can do to manage a crisis of this scale?

Alanna Richman

Approximately how much plastic do we all have inside of our bodies?

Shannon Ruth

One health- the integration and acknowledgement of the connection between human, animal, and environmental health- seems like a natural fit for environmental toxicology. But it is rarely used in an enviro tox context. Why do you think that is?

Lucian Stern

History has shown that the government loves to downplay environmental hazards in favor of keeping people calm. In cases like these, what are the best sources of accurate information for people to check whether their homes/areas of importance are truly safe to return to?

ReigningEmily

I live in South Louisiana where you are never more than a 30 minute drive from some sort of chemical plant that is running 24/7. My question is: so how fucked are we? And is there anything I can do to help?

Photo Geegee

Are there any new technologies shedding hope onto containing or neutralizing chemical spills or other hazards leeching into the environment?

Robin Stumbo

I've always wondered about this, but if humans were to suddenly disappear (ala Life After People), how fucked would the environment be as a result of all the chemicals in rail cars, processing plants, etc. suddenly being unattended?

Mary Simpson

Why are certain chemicals in food banned elsewhere verses the US?

Savannah Frost

I live in Utah and our Salt Lake is shrinking. I've heard a lot of people talking about toxic dust being released from the dried lake bed. Is that real, and if so, how much will it mess with us humans?

Ellie Cutright

First time question asker! What is the best thing we, as individuals, can change in our day to day life to reduce our contribution to the fucking over of the environment?

Courtney Kudera

Wow so so excited that this is the topic of my first question! I understand there is going to be huge environmental impacts of this collision throughout the region. I am a master's student studying environmental policy specifically on water! Ah so exciting (sad but exciting to ask), how is this disaster going to impact ground water resources for years to come throughout the region? Follow up: Will this impact groundwater resources outside of the region in the future?

FrankD

Is DDT really a forever chemical or does it degrade over time?

Tania Frantoff

Hi there! On behalf of my stepdaughter Sofia who is a super fan of your show, we would like to know: What’s the most underestimated chemical commonly found in the environment? How do you know certain products will be toxic for the environment before distributing them?

Eleanor Stephenson

Are there any plants/natural minerals that are able to clean up these toxic chemicals themselves?

Brooke

Hello! First time question asker!! (So excited!) I live in Minneapolis and there’s an environmental justice fight going on in a neighborhood called East Phillips, and it relates to environmental toxicology! The area had lots of arsenic and lead in the ground (because of 20th century pesticide manufacturing/storage, yay), and was an EPA Superfund site. The city plans to demolish a building, which the residents have been concerned about in terms of potential pollution - if there’s arsenic and lead in the ground, what could happen if that’s disturbed by a demo and then later construction of new buildings? Will the heavy metals be disturbed, will they poof up into the air and spread out? What kinds of harms could come from something like that? How should something like that be contained? I could go on and on, but I’m so excited you’re having someone talk about this topic!

Brooke

I want to know how we can hold private companies accountable for large chemical disasters like this. A corporation was shipping the freight.

Brooke

I second this question!

Brooke

Also an ICU nurse, I cringe every time too.

Todd Peterson

We often see statements such as "it takes styrofoam 500 years to break down." What exactly does this mean? More precisely, break down into WHAT? And will the resulting broken down compounds be toxic and leach into the environment? It's not like our great great great etc grandchildren will be mining styrofoam deposits from landfills (or will they???)

Miranda Harter

Also, pretty shortly after 9/11 people were told they could return to living and working there, despite the scale of the ensuing environmental disaster. How was that decision made, and was it made sooner than was actually safe as many New Yorkers assume given what we learned about the health of first responders?

Shelby Mills

Can fungi and bacteria be effectively used to clean up toxic spills? Such as the recent incident in Ohio?

Racheal Davis

How accurate was the film white noise and also what’s your opinion on whatever the hell was going on in that movie??

Lillian Wangler

Hey Anna, you may want to re-comment this on the chicken episode thread! It cracked me up to find it here though

Lillian Wangler

Hi Heather, I'm not an Environmental Toxicologist, but I am a Colorado Master Gardener Apprentice and I have some suggestions! You can go to your nearest USDA extension (usually at a state university near you) to have soil samples tested. You can collect them yourself, and you typically need several samples. The cost of these tests varies a lot depending on where you live and what you test for. Container gardens and community gardens that have been proven safe are good, cost-effective options if your soil is contaminated or you can't afford testing. Otherwise you can use barriers at the bottom of raised-bed gardens to keep crop roots from reaching contaminated soil.

Lillian Wangler

Hi, Kyla! Do you know if your soil is naturally acidic or alkaline? A quick way to find out is to take about 1/4 cup of dry dirt, mix it with distilled water to make a liquidy mud, and then pour any household vinegar over it. Fizzing means it's alkaline. If not, repeat the mud-making process and then sprinkle baking soda over it. Bubbling would mean acidic. No reaction to either means neutral-ish soil. Lead is less bioavailable in alkaline soils, so just knowing roughly where your soil's acidity levels are at can sometimes bring relief! That also can inform the next steps for lead remediation.

Kyla C (KAI-luh, rhymes with Myra or Lyla)

Thank you both for your suggestions! The general approach has been to cover most exposed soil and use raised beds. Unfortunately the soil pH is on the lower side, so acidic :( And I'm not quite sure what the protocol would be with the roly polies! Would I hunt them down after so they don't decompose and potentially re-release the lead back?

Kleargle

what can the everyday person do to minimise/stop toxic waste from causing problems in the environment?

Phoebe Teskey

I'm in Tucson, AZ and at this very moment there's been a hazmat spill on the interstate! Nitric acid. How dangerous is it? What are its effects on the environment? Asking for the entire city of Tucson that's freaking out right now

Heather E Stewart

Thanks Lillian! My nearest USDA extension might not help me, but I'll check the Canadian equivalents. ;) I've been gardening directly in the soil for 10 yrs here already but I have a child now so want to minimize her exposure. I imagine different crops transmit different levels of toxins... or is it the contact with the soil while gardening that is the problem? I'm hoping perennial berry shrubs are ok? And is pre-war toxic waste "better" than modern? Coal and lead vs petrochemicals and phthalates and solvents?

Isabella

Is there anything that could have been used to neutralize the chemicals instead of the other approach of burning it?

Lisa M Rich

So, living on Lake Michigan, we have advisories from the DNR about how much/how often you can eat fish from the lake. This is disturbing enough, but raises more questions-

Lisa M Rich

Who decides how much of a poison is too much? Is there science behind the DNR recommendations, or just best guesses? Also, we have been told that PCBs with literally never degrade, and have entered the food chain forever. Is that true? Is there any way to actually clean up contaminated water? Is agriculture waste considered a toxicology issue? What about the salt spread on the roads in the winter? Our state is apparently seeing

Lisa M Rich

'untenable' levels of salt draining into the lake. What are the consequences? Can that ever resolve, or is it all hopeless?

Whitney T.

I just asked a question for the Chickens episode that applies here, too! I read a study recently that found backyard eggs contained very high levels of lead. The research was from Australia in a neighborhood that had previously been an industrial area, and the heavy metals in the soil were making their way into the eggs. How much of a concern is this for backyard chicken owners? Should we be testing our eggs?

Lillian Wangler

I got an email with your reply, but I can't see it here! Everything in the USA is a business, so you never know lol As you've probably observed, babies explore the world with their mouths and kids tend to play in the dirt and then stick their hands in their mouths, so that sort of behavior is where most soil contaminant exposure happens for them. Doing your best to avoid direct soil ingestion is a great practice! Dust inhalation can be a challenge too since little ones are lower to the ground. Taking off dirty shoes/clothes to avoid tracking soil into the house can be helpful. For food safety stuff, I would avoid root crops (carrots, beets, onions) since they have direct soil contact and root systems tend to accumulate toxins in higher concentrations than other plant parts. Always wash your produce to avoid that direct consumption I mentioned earlier. Fruits and non-root vegetables tend to have lower concentrations of any soil toxins, so I'd say your berries are a pretty safe bet. :) Your last question is a bit trickier to answer. Since lead is the most common contaminant in urban soils and soil contaminants accumulate in the body, I consider lead as a priority contaminant to be avoided. That said, the post-war contaminants you asked about have a lower threshold for concern (that is, are considered a problem in lower concentrations) than the pre-war contaminants. So if you're comparing pre-war vs. post-war contaminants in equal concentrations, the post-war contaminant is a bigger problem. I hope this was worded clearly and helped! I have a non-covid virus that's giving me some brain fog, so doubly happy to try to clarify if you'd like.

Bridget Shanley

How much has environmental toxicology and its impact on mammals been studied? Is it a growing field of study?

Alex

First timer here, Are these very dissimilar to the ongoing chemical impact on farming fields/land which are sprayed with the various products (I.e. pest sprays and ureas etc)? How do they all impact the soil microbes?

Attacusatlas

Sorry, one more: I moved to California about six months ago, and I have no idea what to make of the Prop 65 chemical toxicity warnings... Even the building my doctor's office is in has a sign on the outside that there's chemical exposure inside that can cause cancer. How can regular people make the best use of these warnings, and how concerned should we be when we consume or use something with that warning on it? Should more states follow California's lead with this?

Haley K.

Thank you so much for doing this episode!! The Ohio Train Crash is certainly concerning so it will be nice to get some expert answers! Question: how do we test the true spread of toxic spills to make sure cleaning efforts actually clean it? Like do we sample from air, water, and soil? How deep in the soil? Or do we just have to do what we can and hope for the best?

Haley K.

Yes! Not from california but I’ve gotten letters from the water company before that they tested higher levels of this-or-that. But I’m never sure what to do with that information…

Michelle Dempsey

Not a question. As an Ohio native, thank you for doing this. We must continue to put things like this into the light and not let it disappear. Real people and communities are impacted by this and are terrified they won't see it rectified. The longer it stays in the public eye the better chance they have for solutions.

MicMc

Hey Alie! First time asker here. I also want to thank you for doing this episode as I live only a couple of hours away from the spill. I’d love to know what the radius is of the affected area. I know people within a certain radius were evacuated, but what about water runoff and rain?

Nathan Marion

How are old gas stations decommissioned and is the land environmentally sound afterwards?

EdNoGG

In high school I learned about bio remediation to clean up oil spills, is this real?

Lindsay Thomas

Based in the UK, I was always told to dispose of water containing chemicals into 'graywater' systems e.g. into a toilet, as these undergo more robust processing and the chemicals won't end up in the environment. Is that true, or flim flam? What is the safest way to dispose of water containing chemicals? For example water from a fish tank which contains a medication or chemical treatment.

David the Altruistic Misanthrope

Regarding Ohio... 1) What are all of the chemicals that were released? What is known about the harmful effects of each? 2) it's interesting to see how social media has blown this out of proportion... Or have they?

VibesandMoods

FTQA How long could the chemicals potentially remain in the soil? I know in Sheffield, UK there is still pollution dating back to the industrial revolution and France from the world wars

A_rexis

FTQA How often does this kind of thing happen around the world? (It feels like a high potential) And how can we not?

Joe Lewis

Are there things that corporations do to make their neighbors more accepting of environmental toxins? Politicians at all levels more accepting?

Bryant Bainbridge

One of the byproducts of the creation of Polyvinylchloride is Dioxin, one of the most toxic substances on the planet. What has been released into the atmosphere in these fires and how on earth did someone arrive at the conclusion that allowing these cars to burn was the way to go?

Kari Henke

As a civil engineer, one of the biggest parts of my job is erosion control and storm water management with our main concerns being sediment and oil/gas/general roadway pollution. How are spills like this handled in regards to storm water infrastructure and is there anything other than burning the chemicals that could’ve been done to prevent further spreading?

Camille

Hi, I'm a first-time question asker :) Are human activities and our current social organization compromising the integrity of the planet? We know that the way our societies are functioning is not sustainable for other living species, but in the event of the extinction of humans and other species, will the planet be able to carry on? I know that the Earth has continued to exist throughout history after extinctions of various species, but are we damaging it so severely that the planet might not be able to recover?

Matt Rippon

With the UN saying we need to ramp up nuclear power, how dangerous really is nuclear waste?

Jenna Putnam

RCRA 8 metals -- How were these metals decided on as 8 that should be focused on in environmental site remediation? What other metals are dangerous to watch out for?

Sacrificial

A friend of mine worked on that cleanup crew, from Canada. I want to know if there's any work bring done to remediate mercury out of water bodies as it can currently be found just about everywhere.

Mark Hewlette

I'm originally from Colorado (Now in SF Bay Area - your old home - hello) - there are mine tailings scattered around the mountains and I've been told, some of them (if not all) are very toxic and/or radioactive. Is this true? Probably a good idea to stay away from tailings?

Gemma

First-time question asker!!! Since microplastics cause issues in fertility, development, gastrointestinal issues, etc in plants and animals, can you see any organism evolving to combat the issue? I feel like microplastics are literally EVERYWHERE and will continue to be an issue we battle for years to come.

Justin Saucedo

How comparable is the Ohio spill to something like Chernobyl? Will the land be uninhabitable or unsafe for a long period of time?

Keely Greiner

How can you keep yourself safe with potential carcinogens all around you? Run tests all the time? I’m a very anxious person and this worries me greatly.

Joe Wilkie

will I be ok in Cincinnati and Louisville if the cloud drains into the mississippi river?

Audrey

What is the deal with PFAS and do they really last FOREVER?

Curious Cat

Kid of the 80s/90s here too and acid rain was the environmental boogeyman of the day. What happened?! Did we fix it? Was it not actually a thing? Or have we just swapped it for something worse...

Marianne Thomas

As a vet I would be super interested to hear if there's more we could be doing

Marianne Thomas

That sounds like such an interesting job! Petition for more engineer ologies?

Marianne Thomas

Yes, I've done a bit of a 180 on nuclear which I used to be dead against. It feels like we're unlikely to keep the planet survivable without it, at least in the short-medium term. But I was a newborn when Chernobyl happened, so grew up very worried about it. Hard to shake that worry

Marianne Thomas

Jeez. It really feels like it should be down to industry to keep consumers safe. Not the job of consumers to research & avoid various harmful agents. I'm sorry you guys are in that position. Hope this one gets answered

Marianne Thomas

Also from the UK. I was never told this, but it makes sense, so thanks for enlightening me!

Marianne Thomas

I love scrolling the questions because there's always a fun mix of TIL things, and things I can't believe I never wondered about. This is the latter. Thanks for making me think

Emily Yoshida

What is something commonly purchased and/or discarded that you wish people would really just avoid?

Matt Rippon

Yeah, we were all told that nuclear was bad. I assume that fossil fuel companies were behind the media on that.

Diana Kaempfer Tong

First time question asker here, but how concerned do people who live in other states that are relatively close by, such as Massachusetts or New York, need to be about rain that falls which may be carrying chemicals up from the disaster? If smoke can make it to the east coast from the California wildfires, it does not seem to be a stretch to be concerned about these chemicals being transported through storm systems.

Victoria Oetting

Do we use chemicals to neutralize harmful chemicals? If so, what are the most common chemicals we have to neutralize in the environment and how effective are they?

The Joyful Spitfire

Do you think it is possible to return the soil for farming to a place where it is nutrient rich and devoid of harmful chemicals?

Lauren Cooper

What, if anything, can be done about this? How absolutely fucked is the watershed?

FreshCutGrass

How do you clean up the soil contamination? And how long does it take for the soil to be considered uncontaminated?

Anna Eeeee

How do you feel about releasing microorganisms like bacteria that “clean up” oil spills in the ocean. Are there any harmful consequences of releasing such non-native organisms?

Katie Murray

You’ve never said my name. I am quite a noob when it comes to this stuff. So here’s a stupid question: what are the main negative effects of a spill like this? Health impacts? Physical damage at the site of the spill? Toxic fumes?

Bethany Goodine

How is it determined when a contaminated site can be "closed"?

Gemma

From mushrooms to hair, what is the best way to clean up an oil spill to foster a renewed and healthy environment?

Gemma

Does the radiation from labs working with x-ray equipment impact the environment?

Mark Schurmann

Who gets to decide that the best option for a toxic spill is to burn it. I feel like there is very little science behind this.

Darlene Skapura

I just found out the waste water from the Ohio tanker cars, is being brought to a local place here in Tx, to be dispose of… is this disposal method safe for us? I am also concerned amount the tanker trucks they are using to drive the water here… we dont want an accident with this water splashed all over…

Emily Krieger

this was SO helpful, thank you to you two for putting this ep together. also, anyone else love hearing "poison of interest"?

Julia Hutton

I was so hesitant to listen to this episode because I listen on my way to work, and it's been a rough few weeks and I couldn't handle any more bad news. Today I finally listened, and as you were introducing the Ologist I kept thinking "my old housemate Kim would probably get along really well with this scientist!" OMG KIM IS THE OLOGIST!!!! Best surprise ever, and really great episode ❤️