Environmental health expert says he would not feel safe returning to a home in East Palestine

An environmental expert said he would not feel safe returning to the town of East Palestine, Ohio, in the aftermath of the train derailment that allowed chemicals to escape into the air, despite officials’ assurances that the air and water are safe. 

Peter DeCarlo, an associate professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins University, told NPR in an interview on Thursday that he would be “especially concerned” for the health of his two children. He said the air monitoring and sampling does not give him the data he needs to determine if emissions are still coming from the site. 

“Honestly, with the data that I’ve seen on the [Environmental Protection Agency] response site, the answer is no,” he said about whether he would be comfortable with returning. 

DeCarlo’s analysis comes one day after state officials said they confirmed the water in the town is safe to drink after conducting tests on the wells that lead into the community’s municipal water system. 

A Norfolk Southern train with hazardous materials on board derailed earlier this month, causing several toxic chemicals to get out. Officials evacuated thousands of residents living nearby for several days last week and conducted a “controlled release” of the chemicals to prevent a potential explosion. 

At the time, they said the water was likely safe but recommended that people drink bottled water until they finish their tests, which were concluded Wednesday. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said in an interview on CNN that the air has remained safe as officials have tested it. 

But residents have reported continuing to smell noxious odors in the area and feeling sick. 

DeCarlo said with air monitoring, officials are using devices that are not designed to make appropriate measurements. He said the devices are not specific to the concerned chemicals, instead measuring them taken altogether, and they do not have the right sensitivity to give an accurate reading of a concentration.

He said with air sampling, officials take samples of the air and bring them back to a laboratory for analysis, which he said can give a more accurate assessment of what chemicals are present and how concentrated they are. 

DeCarlo said officials are either not conducting air sampling or not posting the data on the state’s Environmental Protection Agency website. 

“Without that information, we really just can’t assess the risk appropriately,” he said. 

He said the symptoms of those who have said they felt sick are consistent with someone who has “sensitivity” to a certain chemical. 

DeCarlo said three measurements should be consistently taken from three locations around the site — at the site, from upwind and from downwind — until no more emissions show.