A University of Kentucky researcher has launched a pilot study to investigate long-term liver health effects on residents exposed to vinyl chloride during the February 2023 East Palestine train derailment, according to the UK College of Pharmacy.

Lindsay C. Czuba, an assistant professor in the UK College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, received a pilot grant from the University of Kentucky Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences to examine how chronic, low-level exposure to the chemical affects liver function and alters how bodies process medications.

The derailment on February 3, 2023, released more than 115,000 gallons of vinyl chloride into the East Palestine community. While initial attention focused on acute health concerns, researchers are now investigating potential hidden dangers unfolding in the livers of those exposed. Vinyl chloride is a known carcinogen linked to hepatic angiosarcoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as other liver diseases.

Czuba's research builds on the East Palestine Train Derailment Health Research Program funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Her work focuses on proteins that maintain bile acid regulation in the liver and aims to understand the consequences of environmental vinyl chloride exposure on liver health. The condition she is investigating, known as toxicant-associated steatohepatitis or TASH, is a form of liver inflammation and fat accumulation that can occur even at exposure levels not considered toxic without typical warning signs on standard liver tests.

What makes TASH particularly difficult to diagnose is that routine bloodwork may appear normal even as liver damage progresses. Czuba's Czuba lab uses advanced analytical instrumentation to detect and quantify bile acid metabolites from small plasma samples to identify hidden liver damage.

The East Palestine derailment has spurred multiple long-term health initiatives. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has committed $10 million over five years for research on the disaster's health impacts, and the federal government negotiated a settlement with Norfolk Southern exceeding $310 million to address contamination and provide health monitoring for residents.