{"id":32622,"date":"2024-09-24T21:42:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T02:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=32622"},"modified":"2024-09-24T22:45:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T03:45:02","slug":"epa-data-make-it-hard-to-know-the-extent-of-the-contamination-from-last-years-ohio-derailment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=32622","title":{"rendered":"EPA data make it hard to know the extent of the contamination from last year\u2019s Ohio derailment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The way the Environmental Protection Agency has reported its test results since a Norfolk Southern train derailed<\/u><\/a> and officials released and burned<\/u><\/a> chemicals that spewed a toxic cloud over East Palestine, Ohio, makes it hard for residents to know the full extent of contamination and potential risks to their health<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data analyzed by The Associated Press show the EPA doesn\u2019t provide a specific measurement for chemicals that fall below a reporting limit, making it harder to know how much is there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EPA has said that residents shouldn\u2019t worry about contamination from chemicals that are below the human health screening level that indicates danger and is usually higher than that reporting limit. But some health experts say that when mixed together, as they are in East Palestine, even levels of chemicals below that standard could raise the risk for cancer or other serious health problems. Extended exposure to low levels of chemicals might also cause problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agency\u2019s lack of transparency, combined with independent tests that appear to show lingering problem areas from the February 2023 derailment, are making it hard for some residents<\/u><\/a> to trust the EPA\u2019s assurances that they will be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI used to feel like those were agencies to protect people, but I don\u2019t feel like that anymore,\u201d said Krissy Ferguson, who still isn\u2019t living in her home because of her concerns. \u201cThey need to come forth and do the right thing. They know these chemicals just don\u2019t go away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s going on with the numbers?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The test results the government reports are often labeled undetectable because the EPA says there isn\u2019t enough of a chemical present to reliably determine how much is there. The agency doesn\u2019t report exact numbers when the results are below a conservative reporting limit identified by the lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But results from the railroad\u2019s contractors and independent testers working in East Palestine include more details. Those spreadsheets include actual results even when they are below the reporting limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s because there is a lower threshold called a method detection limit that spells out what a test is capable of finding. Testing experts say they generally report results above that lower limit because the numbers are considered reliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EPA hasn\u2019t explained why it hasn\u2019t disclosed detailed data on low levels of chemicals but has said its work in East Palestine is focused on levels high enough to pose an immediate threat to human health. When asked about testing of creeks near the site of the derailment, the agency said in a statement that \u201cnone of the data that we\u2019ve reviewed shows chemicals in the sediments far exceeding the long-term human health screening levels. Put simply, short term exposure to the sediments will not have meaningful increase in risk to human health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EPA data and independent tests done this year do show the level of chemicals in the creeks improving after the cleanup efforts, even though some potentially dangerous substances linger at low levels. The agency also says that some of the contamination was likely present before the derailment because of industries that operated in East Palestine decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest spreadsheet EPA posted on its East Palestine website<\/u><\/a> last month shows 8,758 soil and sediment test results produced since the derailment. Some 6,400 of those entries declare there wasn\u2019t enough of an individual chemical found to report it accurately under a conservative reporting limit. But new data from Norfolk Southern\u2019s contractors, who have done most of the testing, reveal that 25,442 of 26,874 test results from last year \u2014 nearly 95% \u2014 had detectable levels of chemicals, according to the detailed information the lab provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carnegie Mellon professor Neil Donahue, director of that university\u2019s Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research, said it\u2019s customary to report any data that\u2019s over the method detection limit because the numbers are considered reliable. Other experts agreed the EPA should just report the data it has and explain it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t they just straight tell people what the truth is? Do they not think we can handle it?\u201d said resident Christina Siceloff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the health implications?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even though it\u2019s hard to know exactly how much of a health threat exists, medical researchers say there are real concerns in East Palestine because some residents have reported unexplained health problems since the derailment, including respiratory issues, rashes, hair loss, nosebleeds, asthma and at least one case of male breast cancer that prompted a double mastectomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human health screening levels that EPA is relying on are based on short-term exposure. It\u2019s less clear what it means to be exposed to these chemicals over a longer period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers like Dr. Beatrice Golomb say that prolonged exposure to low levels of chemicals can be a problem. And even when there is a standard for exposure to a single chemical, there is no good research establishing what it would mean to be exposed to a mixture of chemicals, said Golomb, who is based at the University of California San Diego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not clear exactly what combinations of chemicals were created after several tank cars filled with hazardous chemicals spilled their contents and caught fire. Three days after the derailment, officials unnecessarily blew open<\/u><\/a> five tank cars of vinyl chloride and burned that plastic ingredient because they feared those cars would explode. New substances were created when all those chemicals burned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does this affect a pending $600 million settlement?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday about whether a $600 million class action settlement<\/u><\/a> the railroad is offering to residents who live within 20 miles (32 kilometers) of the derailment should be approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some residents say the deal shouldn\u2019t be approved because they don\u2019t have enough information to evaluate whether they are getting enough compensation. People who live within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of the derailment can get up to $70,000 per household for property damage and up to $25,000 per person for any health problems, though the amounts offered drop off for those living farther away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawyers involved in the settlement say they believe it is fair based on what they know. But they haven\u2019t shared details of their investigation with residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Petty, a forensic engineering expert hired by class-action attorneys to evaluate the contamination before residents agreed to the settlement, said that when the EPA reports it couldn\u2019t detect any results, \u201cthey\u2019re implying that they\u2019re small or not useful. But that\u2019s not true.\u201d He said EPA is \u201cmisrepresenting what the actual data likely is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Petty can\u2019t disclose his own test results unless a judge orders him to \u2014 like residents have asked \u2014 because of the settlement agreement, but he said the EPA shouldn\u2019t be so quick to dismiss the testing other independent testers have done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of detail in EPA data could influence whether the judge approves the settlement. Lawyer Dan Abraham, who represents 35 people who objected to the deal, said it shouldn\u2019t be approved yet because the attorneys who negotiated it haven\u2019t released results of Petty\u2019s tests or other details they\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawyers who negotiated the deal say that most people who live within the area covered support it and that roughly 55,000 claims were filed. Only 370 households and 47 businesses opted out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

apnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The way the Environmental Protection Agency has reported its test results since a Norfolk Southern train derailed and officials released and burned chemicals that spewed a toxic cloud over East Palestine, Ohio, makes it hard for residents to know the full extent of contamination and potential risks to their health. Data analyzed by The Associated Press show the EPA doesn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":32623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5784],"tags":[2254,2523,1830,4102],"class_list":["post-32622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-derailment","tag-epa","tag-ohio","tag-pollution"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32624,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32622\/revisions\/32624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}