It is easy to get immersed in a project and the associated logistics, characterization, remedy selection, and monitoring, but every so often, we need to pause and remind ourselves why we do this work in the first place.
The University of Louisville Cardinal Stadium, a couple of miles from my home, regularly reminds me of how pervasive the use of chlorinated solvents has been and why we do our work. Where the stadium sits today was once a locomotive repair and cleaning facility. Workers using pressure washers blasted grim from locomotives with solvents such as TCE inside a semi-enclosed “barn”.
As a student, I used to park my car near the cleaning barn. The air had a slight fruity smell, but I thought nothing of it.
We now know that more than 600 U.S. railroad workers cleaned locomotives from the 1950s through the early 1990s, with little to no protection, using solvents like 1,1,1-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, and perchloroethylene. The way the solvents were utilized resulted in significant exposure to the workers. Exposures now linked to brain damage.
The condition that arises is known as toxic encephalopathy, and it presents as chronic depression, memory loss, and unpredictable mood changes. The connection was first brought to light in a 2006 study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (Haut, 2006) and has since been confirmed by numerous other researchers.
In the field of remediation, we are the hands of industry striving to make amends for past mistakes. It’s not just about hitting regulatory endpoints. It’s restoring trust, protecting future generations, and honoring those who unknowingly bore the burden of exposure.
*A one minute case study demonstrating the capability of CAT 100 to encourage and sustain a dechlorinating population is in this newsletter.
