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Center for Plumbing Safety

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. Environmental Science and Technology. 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. Sustainable Cities and Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105867

Public summaries and press releases about the studies

  • Pertaining to Coelho et al. (2024). Toxic chemicals from Ohio train derailment lingered in buildings for months – here’s what our investigation found in East Palestine. The Conversation. September, 2024. Article here
  • Others 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

Government Websites with Environmental Testing Information and Announcements

State Agencies

Federal Agencies

Resources