Accidents Waiting to Happen: Hazardous Materials by Rail

Nearly a billion tons of hazardous materials are transported annually across the country by pipeline, highway and freight rail, posing risks to the environment and public health. Rail lines carrying hazardous material frequently cross or travel alongside vulnerable rivers and streams, creating the risk of severe damage to waterways in the event of accidents, such as the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which resulted in hazardous chemicals being spilled into nearby waterways.

Nearly a billion tons of hazardous materials are transported by rail in the U.S. each year

Nearly a billion tons of hazardous materials are carried across 140,000 miles of freight railroads in the United States each year. 

Trains carrying toxic chemicals can endanger our waterways because trains frequently derail, which can result in spills of toxic materials. In 2022, railroad derailments caused one quarter of all hazardous material accidents nationwide, with hazardous materials being released in 172 derailments over the past decade.

Oil trains put waterways at risk

The transport of oil by rail poses a particularly serious risk. In 2023, more than 4 billion gallons of crude oil were transported by rail in the U.S.

Oil is harmful to wildlife, both because of the toxicity of its chemical components and the physical effects of oil contamination, such as the coating of animals’ fur or feathers. Crude oil contains carcinogens such as benzene that pose long-term threats to human health. Different types of oil pose particular hazards: Crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale is relatively light, spreads quickly, can coat shorelines and penetrates into soil, while bitumen from Canada’s tar sands can sink once spilled into waterways, making cleanup more difficult.

In June 2023, a train carrying hot asphalt and four cars carrying molten sulfur, which are both by-products of petroleum, derailed into the Yellowstone River in Montana. 500,000 pounds of hot asphalt spilled, eventually entrapping and killing several animals. Asphalt was found 110 miles downstream of the spill. Elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a toxic component of oil, were also reported in fish months after the spill.

Despite these risks, oil companies’ desire to drill in new areas is leading to proposals for new routes to ship oil by rail. A proposed new railway in Utah, for example, would carry thick crude from the Uinta Basin to an existing freight railway that runs alongside the Colorado River for hundreds of miles.

Hazardous material spills from trains are common

In 2022, rail operators reported 337 leaks or spills of hazardous materials, including crude oil, from all causes. Since the beginning of 2020, there have been at least 54 rail accidents involving hazardous material spills – most of them derailments. (See map above.) 

Chemical spills from trains can cause fish kills and other harms to wildlife, and harm human health.

Spills of plastic pellets also threaten waterways

Another threat to waterways from train spills is plastic pellets, which are raw forms of plastic often transported by rail to sites that manufacture plastic products. Spills of plastic pellets can hurt wildlife by blocking their gastrointestinal tracts. When left in waterways, pellets can absorb toxins such as dioxins in water before bioaccumulating in the marine food web and human diet. In addition, when dispersed into waterways, plastic pellets are difficult to clean up. For example, in a plastic pellet spill in the Mississippi River, an estimated 75% of the 743 million pellets spilled may have been swept downstream in just a few weeks.

Plastic pellet spills from trains occur frequently across the U.S. In September 2023, millions of plastic pellets spilled from a derailed train less than a half-mile from a branch of the Anacostia River in Hyattsville, Md., just outside Washington, D.C. In February 2024, a train derailment spilled plastic pellets into the Hoosic River in New York State, which were carried up to 20 miles downstream. Weeks later, the extensive cleanup had still not been completed. In March 2024, three railcars spilled diesel fuel and pellets into Pennsylvania’s Lehigh River.

Threat spotlight: Toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio

In February 2023, a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, involved 53 cars, of which 20 contained hazardous materials such as vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate and isobutylene. In total, over a million pounds of these chemicals spilled into the soil, air and water, including nearby creeks and streams. 

A total of 44 million gallons of contaminated water were removed from the area during the months-long cleanup process. Still, a year after the derailment, Sulphur Run, a stream running through the middle of East Palestine, remained contaminated, with oil sheening found in almost 70% of the stream. In total, 43,000 fish and animals within a 5-mile radius were killed in the weeks following the spill. 

The spilled hazardous materials also had impacts on human health. According to a government survey, 45% of local residents believed they were exposed to hazardous substances in water. Vinyl chloride, in particular, is used to make PVC and is a known carcinogen. Reports from local residents of health problems persisting a year later highlighted a lack of research on the other involved chemicals. 

Protect American waterways from damaging spills

Trains carrying hazardous materials, including oil, and environmentally damaging cargo, such as plastic pellets, put America’s streams and rivers at risk, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Policymakers have several options to protect our waterways from all types of catastrophic accidents. Policymakers should work to:

Reduce the use of materials that pose threats to waterways – including oil, toxic chemicals and plastic pellets. The best way to prevent toxic spills is to reduce the need to transport dangerous materials in the first place.

Improve rail safety. Require the expedited replacement of outdated rail cars that pose safety risks with newer, safer cars. Boost inspections of rail cars and tracks and commit to strong enforcement of safety rules with appropriate penalties for violations. 

Guarantee the public’s right to know about hazardous materials moving through their communities and improve communication with first responders.

Prevent the construction of new railways primarily intended to carry oil trains.

To find out more

For a national map showing the density and impact of train derailments, visit the National League of Cities.

To see water and soil monitoring following the derailment in East Palestine, look at the interactive map from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Frontier Group intern Hailey Seo contributed to this resource.

Rail accidents map source information:  Map includes rail accidents (excluding those at grade crossings) that spilled hazardous materials. Data: U.S. Federal Railroad Administration, Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Data (Form 54) Subset – Unique Train Accidents (not at grade crossings), downloaded from https://railroads.dot.gov/safety-data/accident-and-incident-reporting/accidentincident-dashboards-data-downloads, August 5, 2024. Includes accidents from beginning of 2020 to end of reporting (August 4, 2024) that included at least one rail car that released hazardous materials.