Ohio/Pennsylvania Chemical Spill Public Health Response
This webpage contains information in support of the public health response and investigation regarding the February 3, 2023 chemical spill and fires in East Palestine, Ohio. This incident released hazardous materials and other chemicals into the environment. Days later, additional hazardous materials were vented from derailed railcars and set on fire February 6. In response to requests for assistance by community members a Purdue University led team responded to the disaster. Through this support the team collaborated with other investigators in the area.
The Purdue led team’s goal was to help households and businesses better understand key public health and safety questions. Ultimately, the team received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Open Collective, crowdfunding, and Purdue University Institute for a Sustainable Future. Questions about this effort can be directed to Professor Andrew Whelton at awhelton@purdue.edu.
New Studies Led by Us and Others!
- 2024, Environmental and private property contamination following the Norfolk Southern chemical spill and chemical fires in Ohio. Authored by: Coelho et al. Led by Prof. A. Whelton, Purdue University. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ew00456f
- 2024, Rapid screening of volatile chemicals in surface water samples from the East Palestine, Ohio chemical disaster site with proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry. Authored by: Jiang et al. Led by Professor N. Jung, Purdue University. Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176056
- 2024, Natural Attenuation Potential of Vinyl Chloride and Butyl Acrylate Released in the East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment Accident. Authored by: Chen et al. Led by Prof. F. Loeffler, University of Tennessee Knoxville. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c04198
- 2024, What drives household protection actions in an industrial crisis? Insights from the East Palestine Train Derailment. Authored by: Toland et al. Led by Prof. L. Spearing, Tufts University.
Public summaries about the studies
- Coming soon!
Teams and Collaborators
- Andrew Whelton, Ph.D., Lyles School of Civil Engineering and Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering
- Nusrat Jung, Ph.D., Lyles School of Civil Engineering
- Brandon Boor, Ph.D., Lyles School of Civil Engineering
- Jeffrey Youngblood, Ph.D., School of Materials Engineering
- Linda Lee, Ph.D., School of Agronomy
- Marty Frisbee, Ph.D., Earth and Atmospheric Planetary Sciences
- Gouri Prabahkar, Ph.D., Earth and Atmospheric Planetary Sciences
- Brad Caffery, Lyles School of Civil Engineering
- Roberta Vance, Lyles School of Civil Engineering
- Lauryn Spearing, University of Illinois at Chicago/Tufts University
- Clayton Wukich, Cleveland State University
- Frank Loeffler, University of Tennessee
- Graduate students
- Undergraduate students
Preliminary Result Presentations, Along with Letters, and Requests
- United Council Community Meeting, October 2023
- Letter to the Ohio Congressional delegation identifying remaining health risks and recommended actions, June 2023
- Testimony to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing, May 19, 2023
- Letter to the USEPA Administrator asking for water testing oversight, April 12, 2023
- Purdue University Community Update on Scientific Investigation - RVO/UEP Meeting, April 2, 2023
- FOIA request reply by the U.S. CDC about potential March 2023 employee illness, March 27, 2023
- FOIA response to the U.S. CDC about potential March 2023 employee illness, March 28, 2023
- FOIA request to the U.S. CDC about potential March 2023 employee illness, March 27, 2023
- Letter to Superintendents of East Palestine High School and Elementary School about building decontamination, March 27, 2023
- Public comment, U.S. House of Rep. Subcommittee on Env., Manufacturing, and Critical Materials for the hearing, March 21, 2023
- Letter to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro about information provided to county, state, and federal agencies, March 20, 2023
- Testimony to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Senate Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee hearing, March 20, 2023
- Purdue University Community Update on Scientific Investigation in East Palestine, OH, March 12, 2023
- Public comment submitted to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for the hearing, March 8, 2023
- Letter to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) asking for a worker safety investigation, March 2, 2023
Government Websites with Environmental Testing Information and Announcements
State Agencies
-
State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA):
https://epa.ohio.gov/monitor-pollution/pollution-issues/east-palestine -
State of Ohio Emergency Management Agency:
https://ema.ohio.gov/media-publications/train-derailment-02052023 -
State of Ohio Governor Michael DeWine:
https://governor.ohio.gov/home -
State of Ohio Department of Health:
https://ema.ohio.gov/media-publications/train-derailment-020523 -
Ohio River water quality monitoring data from ORSANCO:
https://www.orsanco.org/east-palestine-train-derailment-spill-response/ -
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection statement:
https://www.dep.pa.gov/About/Regional/SouthwestRegion/Community%20Information/Pages/Ohio-Train-Derailment.aspx -
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro:
https://www.governor.pa.gov/
Federal Agencies
-
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA):
https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=15933 -
CDC/ATSDR:
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/east-palestine-train-derailment/index.html
Resources
- U.S. Department of Transportation, 2024 Emergency Response Guidebook