Tons and tons of plastic are burned on a daily basis and its not 'the worst ecological disaster of all time'. Anybody freaking out about the train wreck is being played, WAKE UP. PS. I am standing next to a bottle of Hydrogen Chloride(muriatic acid)....otherwise known as stomach acid.
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You really should do better research before you start suggesting others are displaying unwarranted panic or concern over this Ohio event.
First. Polyvinyl chloride (pvc) is different from Vinyl chloride (one of the major chemicals involved in the fire and explosion events).
You can search the following string for specific information on each chemical.
"MSDS Vinyl Chloride Airgas" -- Should provide a link to a 12 page PDF.
The hazard section of that document says:
"Extremely flammable gas. May form explosive mixtures with air. Contains gas under pressure; may explode if heated. May cause frostbite May displace oxygen and cause rapid suffocation. May cause cancer. May cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure. (liver)"
Then search "MSDS Polyvinyl Chloride Fischer Scientific" which should yield a 7 page PDF document.
The hazard section there says "This chemical is not considered hazardous by the 2012 OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200)".
Bottom line is Vinyl Chloride is an inherently less stable and more hazardous chemical than the polyvinyl chloride you are referencing in your post. Contrary to some media claims, the accident site was transporting vinyl chloride.
The burning and explosion of that chemical can result in many harmful chemical byproducts and potentially other secondary chemical reactions in the environment afterward too.
"Vinyl Chloride is a chlorinated hydrocarbon occurring as a colorless, highly flammable gas with a mild, sweet odor that may emit toxic fumes of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride and phosgene when heated to decomposition."
According to the government published chemistry data below:
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Vinyl-Chloride
Finally you are incorrectly comparing plastics burned across the entire disparate world on a daily basis to a single mega burn event in a concentrated small area over a very small time delta. If you were to somehow burn an equivalent concentrated amount of polyvinyl chloride in the same small region at the same rate (this would be difficult since pvc has an ignition temp near 600F vs the much lower temp of vinyl chloride) over the same time delta, I am certain we would be equally concerned with some of the chemical byproducts there.
What is released when poly heated to decomposition?....and 10 tanker cars is a drop in the bucket. You act like its hard to burn plastic.
Thanks for telling me you didn't bother searching for the msds docs or reading my post.
You have yourself a nice day now.
The MSDS that was changed last week?
If only you had looked and read a little, then you would know better. I was intentional in what I said to search for.
Fischer scientific Revision Date 24-Dec-2021
Airgas Revision Date 7/9/2018