“It’s Worrisome to Not Have Data.” An Expert Questions Whether Air Is Safe After Train Derailment

Questions of air safety remain in East Palestine, Ohio, following the Feb. 3 train derailment that sent industrial chemicals, including the carcinogen vinyl chloride, into the atmosphere. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine cleared residents who had evacuated to return home this week, stating that repeated air testing conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was no longer revealing dangerous levels of any contaminants. But the agency has yet to publicly release any quantifiable data on the area’s pollution. The result is confusion about exactly what may or may not be lingering in the air, and what that means for the health of people in the area. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Peter DeCarlo, an associate environmental health and engineering professor who studies atmospheric air pollution at Johns Hopkins University, weighed in on the EPA’s testing methods and what questions residents should be asking. (This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.) TIME: Can you tell me a little bit about what you do, and how it relates to the crisis in East Palestine? Peter DeCarlo: I’m an atmospheric chemist, and my focus in my research is the measurement of trace gasses and particles in the atmosphere—understanding where they came from. The research that we do is all about going outside and taking measurements and really trying to understand what’s in the air that we breathe. In East Palestine, that would mean trying to figu...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate News Public Health Source Type: news