Whistleblower reveals how government rushed to give all clear after East Palestine train derailment and says he was threatened when he asked why
An EPA whistleblower has come forward with shocking claims over the government's response to the toxic East Palestine train derailment.
Robert Kroutil, a scientist who spent four decades in government agencies, claimed to NewsNation that the EPA strayed from its normal safety procedures when testing for hazardous contamination around the crash site.
He alleged that leaders delayed in deploying a chemical testing plane for five days, but still decided that evacuated residents were free to return to their homes after only three days.
Residents who returned home quickly reported adverse reactions, including rashes, breathing problems and nausea.
'That deployment was the most unusual deployment I’ve ever seen,' Kroutil said of the testing aircraft. 'You just wouldn’t do it that way.'
Kroutil originally worked for the Department of Defense, where he worked to develop the Airborne Spectralphotometric Environmental Collection Technology (ASPECT) aircraft, a high-tech plane used to detect levels of chemical contamination in the air.
He continued this work when he moved to the EPA to work as a contractor, but said throughout his career he had never seen the aircraft used in the manner that it was in the East Palestine disaster.
At the time that officials told residents it was safe for them to return to their homes, EPA Chief Michael Reagan specifically singled out the use of the ASPECT plane as a reason he made the decision.
'We’ve had boots on the ground, leading robust air quality testing, including the advanced technology ASPECT plane,' he said.
However, procedures normally called for the ASPECT plane to be deployed within hours, and Kroutil said he is still confused why it wasn't deployed in a timely manner, feeling it may have missed key data on the levels of toxicity in the area.
'In East Palestine, we had a big delay,' he told NewsNation. 'There was a big delay in getting the aircraft to Pittsburgh.'
Asked why officials may have postponed the flight, Kroutil said he is 'still asking myself that question.'
Following the derailment on February 3, 20203, he said: 'We should be collecting data on the 4th, the 5th, the 6th (of February), multiple flights on the 7th.
'We should be there at least two weeks to monitor the situation.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13417965/whistleblower-east-palestine-train-derailment-government.html