The chemical spill in East Palestine, OH is awful. Was our farm affected?

written by

Marie Reedell

posted on

February 16, 2023

*Last updated 2/27/23

Have you heard about the chemical spill in Palestine, OH? It’s really just awful. My heart goes out to the families and farmers and wildlife and soil in the affected areas.

There has been so much immediate obvious damage from the vinyl chloride train derailment leak and subsequent "controlled explosion". But, toxins like this often act as slow poison, and we may not know the full impact for years or even decades.

From what's been reported, we know that vinyl chloride and handful of other chemicals were spilled and entered the waterways in East Palestine, OH. And then there was a "controlled burn" to "clean up" the spill. Burning these chemicals releases dioxins into the air, which are terrible toxins that can cause longterm and chronic diseases like immune suppression, cancer, infertility, and more.

Now more than ever, it's so important to know your farmer and buy farm-direct! How will you know that food from the store is not from an affected area?

We’ve gotten a slew of emails from customers wondering if our farm was affected. And rightly so! I mean, how can we produce the most natural, highest quality food if our land is contaminated?

I did a bit of research, and here’s what I found:

We are 300 miles east of the spill. This is well outside the suggested 3,500 square mile contamination area.

The jet stream goes northeast, and we are east/southeast. Unless there was a big shift in air patterns, we should be clear from contaminated air.

This is a map of contamination by air with expected and typical air patterns (a computer generated model), and we seem to be in the clear.

Here is a NOAA map showing actual air movement from the days of the burn.Thankfully, it looks like it may have just missed us.

We are in a different watershed. This means that contaminated land water will not runoff to our area. That being said, pollution by air may have dropped dioxins in our greater watershed. At what concentrations, I don't know!

We are in a different aquifer. This means that contaminated ground water should not runoff in our area. Again, pollution by air may have spread dioxins to our aquifer, but it's too early to know if or how much damage there has been.

So, it seems that our farm is most likely in the clear.

All this being said, I’m not an expert on these types of toxic disasters. Fingers crossed that this preliminary research holds true and we remain unaffected.

What are your thoughts on toxins in our environment? Do you have any advice for those who were sadly exposed? Do you have any recommendations on how the farm should respond?

I’d love to hear from you. I highly recommend commenting on the blog (no account required - start typing for the guest option to appear). This is a great way for customers to share info with each other regarding this issue. Not a blog commenting kind of person? No worries. You can contact us directly. 🙂

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Our bone broth tested negative-ish for heavy metals 🥳 NATURAL AND CLEAN

Over the past few months a bunch of people asked us if we tested our bone broth for toxic heavy metals. When we get the same question a lot, we of course look into it. My first question was --- Is there an issue with toxic metals in bone broth? As it turns out, yes, there "can" be an issue! Heavy metals are naturally present in our environment. We need the "good" heavy metals to thrive: iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, etc. But, we can 100% do without the toxic heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc. Too many toxic heavy metals can lead to a host of pretty awful issues: nervous system damage, cardiovascular issues, cancer, endocrine disruption, kidney damage, and so on. Our body is designed to excrete heavy metals through urine (and a little bit through sweat, hair, and breastmilk too)... but only so much. There's a limit. If you're overloaded, your body will store those heavy metals in your bones, blood, tissues, and organs. 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This study found high levels of lead in organic chicken bone broth, which is quite concerning. And, in fact, this one study is still cited in articles written today! Let's dig a little deeper. Let's go farther than the short abstract. Here are the broths tested in the study and their test results for lead: (9.5 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus skin and cartilage(7.01 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus bones(2.3 parts per billion): Broth made from tap water plus meat(0.89 parts per billion): Tap water alone cooked for the same amount of time as a control. But, they only used organic chicken from one farm. And, there's zero information about that farm, their practices, the feed, and the broth recipe. Did they use vinegar or wine in the broth? Was the chicken's water contaminated with lead? What was the quality of the feed and the soil? Were the chickens raised indoors or outdoors? So many unanswered questions! 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They said that it indicates their limit of quantitation (LOQ), the lowest concentration that can be accurately tested using the test procedure in that sample type. So the results simply report that none of the metals tested were found in the sample above the specific reporting LOQs. Whether or not they were present below this LOQ is information that is not provided by the test. When talking to the lab, I told them what we needed and assumed that this test would go below a 1 ppb. So, when the results came in, I assumed that a "mg/kg" was the same as a part per billion (ppb). Ummm... that math wasn't write! A "mg/kg" is actually a part per million (ppm). That means that the test we ran had results saying that the broth had less than 0.02 ppm (or 20 ppb) of arsenic and lead. And, it had less than 0.01 ppm (or 10 ppb) of cadmium and mercury. For some reference, the EPA says that less than 15 ppb of lead is safe in drinking water. Not saying that I agree, but it's a good reference point. These results are good. It means the broth definitely isn't overloaded with toxic heavy metals. But, it's not good enough!!! We need to test again! We really need to a lower LOQ. We need to know the results with an accuracy of as low as 1 ppb. It looks like the lab we sent the original samples to doesn't have an LOQ that low. So here I am on the hunt for a lab to do it again. As soon as I can, I'll send samples in again and paying for more expensive testing to get the info you deserve. Stay tuned! I hope to have the new results in by the end of April 2025. Do you worry about toxic metals (or other junk) in your food? Where have your fears stemmed from? I'd love to hear from you. You can comment below (no account required) or contact us 😊 ----- Sources The risk of lead contamination in bone broth dietsBone Broth and Lead Toxicity: Should You Be Concerned?Bone Broth and Lead Contamination: A Very Flawed Study in Medical HypothesesBone Broth, Collagen, and Toxic Metals: A Research Review

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The chemical spill in East Palestine, OH is awful. Was our farm affected?

Have you heard about the chemical spill in Palestine, OH? It’s really just awful. My heart goes out to the families and farmers and wildlife and soil in the affected areas.

We’ve gotten a slew of emails from customers wondering if our farm was affected. And rightly so! I mean, how can we produce the most natural, highest quality food if our land is contaminated?

So, it seems that our farm is most likely in the clear.

What are your thoughts on toxins in our environment? Do you have any advice for those who were sadly exposed? Do you have any recommendations on how the farm should respond?

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566