East Palestine residents express disbelief at EPA reporting practices after train derailment

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

Data reviewed by The Associated Press shows that the EPA does not provide a specific measurement for chemicals that fall below a reporting limit, making it more difficult to know how much is there.

The EPA said residents should not worry about contamination with chemicals that are below the human health screening level, which indicates danger and is usually higher than the 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 increase the risk of cancer or other serious health problems. Prolonged exposure to low levels of chemicals can also cause problems.

The agency’s lack of transparency, combined with independent tests that appear to show persistent problem areas since the February 2023 derailment, make it difficult for some residents to trust the EPA’s assurances that they will be safe.

“I used to feel like these were the agencies protecting people, but I don’t feel that way anymore,” said Krissy Ferguson, who still doesn’t live in her home because of her concerns. “They have to go out and do the right thing. They know these chemicals just don’t go away.”

What happens to the numbers?

Test results reported by the government are often labeled as undetectable because the EPA says there isn’t enough of the chemical present to reliably determine how much is there. The agency does not report exact numbers when results are below the conservative reporting limit identified by the laboratory.

But results from railway contractors and independent testers working in East Palestine include more detail. These spreadsheets include actual results even when they are below reporting limits.

This is because there is a lower threshold called the detection limit of the method that explains what a test is capable of finding. Testing experts say they generally report results above this lower limit because the numbers are considered reliable.

The EPA did not explain why it did not release detailed data on low levels of the chemicals, but said its work in East Palestine focuses on levels high enough to pose an immediate threat to human health. Asked about testing streams near the derailment site, the agency said in a statement that “none of the data we have reviewed shows that the chemicals in the sediments far exceed long-term screening levels for human health. Simply put, short-term exposure to sediment will not have a significant increase in risk to human health.”

EPA data and independent tests conducted this year show that levels of chemicals in streams are improving after cleanup efforts, even as some potentially dangerous substances persist at low levels. The agency also says some of the contamination was likely present before the derailment due to industries that operated in East Palestine decades ago.

The most recent EPA spreadsheet posted last month on its East Palestine website shows 8,758 soil and sediment test results produced since the derailment. About 6,400 of these entries state that not enough of the individual chemical was found to accurately report it below a conservative reporting limit. But new data from contractors Norfolk Southern, which conducted the most testing, shows that 25,442 of 26,874 test results last year — nearly 95 percent — had detectable levels of the chemicals, according to detailed information provided by the lab.

Carnegie Mellon professor Neil Donahue, director of the university’s Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research, said it’s common to report any data that exceeds the method’s detection limit because the numbers are considered reliable. Other experts agreed that the EPA should just report the data it has and explain it.

“Why don’t they just tell people what the truth is? Don’t they think we can handle it?” said resident Christina Siceloff.

What are the health implications?

While it’s hard to know exactly how big a health threat there is, medical researchers say there are real concerns in East Palestine, as some residents have reported unexplained health problems since the derailment, including respiratory problems, skin rashes, hair loss, nosebleeds, asthma, and at least one case of male breast cancer that prompted a double mastectomy.

The human health screening levels relied upon by the EPA are based on short-term exposure. It is less clear what it means to be exposed to these chemicals over a longer period of time.

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

It is unclear what combinations of chemicals were created after several railcars filled with hazardous chemicals spilled their contents and caught fire. Three days after the derailment, officials needlessly opened five vinyl chloride tank cars and burned the plastic ingredient because they feared the cars would explode. New substances were created when all those chemicals burned.

Photo: In this photo provided by Melissa Smith, a train fire is seen on her farm in East Palestine, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.

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