Current:Home > Contact-usHow the EPA assesses health risks after the Ohio train derailment-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
How the EPA assesses health risks after the Ohio train derailment
View Date:2024-12-23 20:10:59
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public hearing about its remediation plan for cleaning up chemicals in and around East Palestine, Ohio. It follows the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals like vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate near the town earlier this month.
Residents were temporarily evacuated from the area two days later to allow for a controlled burn of the chemicals. EPA health officials have been monitoring the air and water in the area and testing for chemicals as part of their ongoing human health risk assessment.
We wanted to know: What goes into an assessment like that? And how does the EPA know if people are safe — now and long-term?
To walk us through that assessment, we talked to Karen Dannemiller, an associate professor of environmental health science at The Ohio State University.
A multi-step approach
The EPA human health risk assessment is ongoing and unfolds in four steps.
- Hazard Identification - First, the EPA has to identify what chemicals were onboard the train and released into the area, and determine which pose a risk to the community and the environment.
- Dose-Response Assessment - The EPA looks at what the effects of each hazardous chemical are at each level of exposure in the area.
- Exposure Assessment - Once the above steps are done, the agency will examine what is known about exposures — frequency, timing and the various levels of contact that occur.
- Risk Characterization - Here, the EPA essentially pieces together the whole picture. They compare the estimated exposure level for the chemicals with data on the expected effects for people in the community and the environment. They also describe the risks, which shape the safety guidelines.
Throughout the coming days and months, there will be much uncertainty. Assessments are ongoing, data takes time to collect and process, and results and clean-up take time.
For Dannemiller, both working towards understanding these risks and acknowledging the uncertainties that exist throughout this process is essential. That transparency and accountability is what will help the community heal.
Further resources and information
- Read EPA updates on the Ohio derailment
- Read the EPA's proposed remediation plan
- Phone number for free, private water testing: 330-849-3919
Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
You can always reach us by emailing [email protected].
This episode was produced by Margaret Cirino, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact-checked by Anil Oza. Hans Copeland was the audio engineer.
veryGood! (6742)
Related
- Parts of Southern California under quarantine over oriental fruit fly infestation
- Memo to the Supreme Court: Clean Air Act Targeted CO2 as Climate Pollutant, Study Says
- Tulsa commission will study reparations for 1921 race massacre victims and descendants
- 2024 Olympics: Swimmer Tamara Potocka Collapses After Women’s 200-Meter Individual Medley Race
- NBA players express concern for ex-player Kyle Singler after social media post
- 2 men sentenced for sexual assaults on passengers during separate flights to Seattle
- Olympic medals today: What is the count at 2024 Paris Games on Friday?
- Attorneys for man charged with killing Georgia nursing student ask judge to move trial
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long record of promoting anti-vaccine views
- Inside Robby Starbuck's anti-DEI war on Tractor Supply, John Deere and Harley-Davidson
Ranking
- Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas says he was detained in airport over being ‘disoriented’
- Judge suspends Justin Timberlake’s driver’s license over DWI arrest in New York
- Léon Marchand completes his dominating run through the Paris Olympics, capturing 4th swimming gold
- Trump election subversion case returned to trial judge following Supreme Court opinion
- Mandy Moore Captures the Holiday Vibe With These No Brainer Gifts & Stocking Stuffer Must-Haves
- Airline passenger gets 19-month sentence. US says he tried to enter cockpit and open an exit door
- Unemployment rise spurs fears of slowdown, yet recession signals have been wrong — so far
- Kremlin acknowledges intelligence operatives among the Russians who were freed in swap
Recommendation
-
Elon Musk says 'SNL' is 'so mad' Trump won as he slams Dana Carvey's impression
-
Did Katie Ledecky win? How she finished in 800 freestyle
-
Police investigating hate speech targeting Olympics opening ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly
-
Florida braces for flooding from a possible tropical storm
-
Celtics' Jaylen Brown calls Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo a 'child' over fake handshake
-
Attorneys for man charged with killing Georgia nursing student ask judge to move trial
-
Police investigate death threats against Paris Olympics opening ceremony director
-
Police dog dies in hot car in Missouri after air conditioner malfunctioned