EPA Drops the Ball in East Palestine

March 17, 2023 | Living on Earth

Transcript

CURWOOD: The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio in February sparked fires and dumped toxic chemicals into the water, soil, and air. And to avoid a potentially catastrophic explosion local authorities drained more than 100,000 gallons of deadly vinyl chloride into a ditch and set it on fire. Local people are concerned for their health as the burning of vinyl chloride can change its chemistry and convert it into the highly toxic chemical family of dioxins. The Environmental Protection Agency has been slow and weak to respond, according to commentator Judith Enck, a former regional administrator of the EPA.

ENCK: When they burned the vinyl chloride officials didn’t mention the plume that could rain down dioxins and other enduring poisons in the region. And two days after the burn, residents in the evacuation zone were allowed back into their homes — before any testing for dioxins and other contaminants on the surfaces inside had been done.

Dioxins are some of the most potent carcinogens on earth — there’s no “safe” dose for humans, and pregnant women and young children are especially vulnerable to their effects.

But even now, more than a month after the derailment, the people of East Palestine don’t have solid information about the risks they and their families face — whether they have already been exposed, what they should be doing to avoid future exposure and whether they just need to move.

The Environmental Protection Agency should have ordered comprehensive testing the very day of the burn. It should have told residents, especially pregnant women and families with young children, not to return home until it was safe to do so. Instead, it timidly stood back, leaving local authorities, corporate interests and rumors to fill the void.

In lieu of a comprehensive plan, the E.P.A. appears to be playing a game of crisis whack-a-mole, waiting and then responding to the news cycle. This is no way to safeguard our communities.

Listen to the interview and read the full transcript here. >>