![]() ![]() One problem that the Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon researchers see with the government response is a failure to communicate clearly with residents. This could release more compounds into the air, he adds. “More sampling is needed,” Rusyn says, especially because crews working on clean-up efforts will continue excavating contaminated soil and aerating the water in local streams to extract chemicals. In addition to acrolein, the group found higher concentrations of four more acrolein-like compounds around East Palestine than in surrounding areas, as well as another compound of concern in certain hot spots. Doing a ‘non-targeted analysis’ to find less-obvious compounds takes some time but is important, Albert Presto, a member of Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies, said during an online briefing on 3 March. The Texas A&M–Carnegie Mellon team’s findings highlight the importance of looking at a broader suite of chemicals than just those spilled during the train derailment, or ones that were likely to have formed during the controlled burn. “Those concentrations have since returned to levels below the national median,” the agency said. In a statement to Nature, the EPA said that it had detected slightly elevated levels of acrolein in East Palestine in the weeks following the derailment, but that these levels do not pose health risks in the short term. This was followed by a ‘controlled burn’ of the materials, to avoid an explosion, which generated an enormous black cloud over the site and probably created acrolein and other combustion by-products. They punctured the train cars to drain the chemicals they had been carrying, including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, into pits. On 6 February, three days after the train accident, authorities evacuated a 5-square-kilometre area that includes East Palestine. (On a normal day, rural areas such as East Palestine usually have lower levels of air pollutants than do urban ones.) The scientists say that, if this level persists, it could affect residents’ health. But the researchers did detect levels of acrolein - a chemical irritant that affects the eyes, skin and respiratory system - that were three times as high as those in downtown Pittsburgh, some 80 kilometres away. Many of their measurements agreed with the EPA’s. Rusyn is part of a group of researchers at Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that drove a mobile laboratory around East Palestine on 20 and 21 February to measure air quality. “The residents had a disconnect between them experiencing some symptoms, and everybody telling them everything was okay,” says Ivan Rusyn, director of the Texas A&M University Superfund Research Center in College Station. ![]() The teams think they can help to fill the gaps left by authorities. Others have been invited by residents who want a second opinion. Some independent researchers have arrived on the scene, hoping to help with more measurements and analyses. Officials at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local, state and federal agencies, as well as the train’s operator, Norfolk Southern, have been monitoring water and air quality in the town - but community members haven’t been satisfied with official reports claiming that levels of the chemicals are low and safe. Implementation and adoption services Add on enhanced technical support and assistance with workflow integrations, custom implementations, and program/project management for your Synopsys toolsĮquip the entire enterprise with a holistic open source risk management solution, providing policy-based governance from development to production.Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, have complained of symptoms including headaches and difficulty breathing following a nearby train derailment that spilled millions of litres of industrial chemicals last month.Continuous monitoring of applications before and after deployment. ![]()
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