CNN
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A mobile lab monitoring air pollution at the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in eastern Palestine, Ohio found a chemical of potential concern at higher than normal levels, said a team of scientists from Carnegie Mellon University and Texas A&M during a briefing on Friday. The researchers said it was not yet clear what impact the chemical acrolein might have on residents’ health.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency gave residents the green light to return home shortly after the Feb. 3 derailment and subsequent controlled burn. The agency, along with local and state environmental experts, took samples from the air, soil, water and residents’ homes. Many residents reported concerning health symptoms in the weeks following the derailment, including rashes and headaches.
The information for the new analysis was collected on February 20 and 21, university researchers said. The mobile lab, located in a van, sucks air over the driver’s head as it drives slowly on public roads. It collects data points every second, the team said, and the unit has sensitive equipment capable of measuring pollution in parts per billion; they can identify even minute concentrations of pollutants that might otherwise not be found.
The lab found that the values for benzene, toluene, xylenes and vinyl chloride were below the minimum risk levels for intermediate exposures set by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The team said on Friday that there were no “hot spots” detected by their mobile sampling, and the analysis corroborates data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency between Feb. February 22.
“We didn’t see any hot spots, which I think is probably a positive,” said Albert Presto, research associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon’s Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, who works on the university’s chemical monitoring effort. in eastern Palestine. “I would say there is a need for further investigation and further sampling” due to the potential risk, particularly from the chemical acrolein.
Acrolein was also below the minimum risk level, but it was the only chemical that was particularly high, the researchers said. Compared to levels in downtown Pittsburgh, levels in the eastern Palestine area ranged from five times lower to three times higher on February 20.
Acrolein is used to control plants, algae, rodents and microorganisms. It is a clear liquid at room temperature and is toxic; it can cause inflammation and irritation of the skin, respiratory tract and mucous membranes, depending on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although acrolein was not on the list of chemicals carried on board the derailed cars, it can be created during the combustion of fuels, wood and plastics, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon researchers say the test method used by the EPA to measure acrolein on-site has too high a limit to detect health-relevant levels.
“The current methodology used by the EPA is not very sensitive, and acrolein is a difficult chemical to assess,” said Dr. Ivan Rusyn, director of the Texas A&M University Superfund Research Center, which is part of the team that performed the analysis. “That is potentially not the only concern. You have to take a broader look at other types of contaminants, and that’s what the mobile laboratory allows you to do.
The university researchers previously shared results from an initial analysis of EPA data that suggested nine of the dozens of chemicals the agency was monitoring were higher than what would normally be found in the region. The researchers said these could potentially be a problem for residents’ long-term health.
CNN has contacted the EPA for comment on the new analysis. On Monday, an agency spokesperson told CNN that the agency’s air monitoring data shows levels of monitored chemicals “are below levels of concern for adverse health effects from exposures.” short term “. The agency did not expect chemicals to remain at elevated levels in the region, but said it is “committed to staying in eastern Palestine and will continue to monitor the air in inside and outside homes to ensure these levels remain safe over time.”
Rusyn said they were pleased the EPA said it was also deploying a mobile lab to perform additional testing. Scientists will need to continue monitoring acrolein and other compounds in the region to determine if exposures persist, he said.
“The reason to continue testing – at least at certain intervals after the event – to establish these trends, partly for communication purposes, to really reassure residents that you know the level and explain to them where the levels after the disaster were relative to some sort of benchmark,” Rusyn said.
Rusyn said it’s too early to know if high levels are impacting residents’ health.
“We cannot draw many conclusions about potential health effects because the reported levels are below detection limits, but the health thresholds are also below the detection limit. So there are additional or different methods that are more sensitive, they are more time consuming and they are more elaborate, and we hope that agencies will also use some of these methods in the future,” Rusyn said.