East Stark News

The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials occurred on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Nearly three weeks later, the media spotlight continues to shine on the village of 4,700 located about 50 miles southeast from the city of Kent.

Kent State University faculty members have been contacted by various media outlets to lend their expert opinions and insight as cleanup work, air monitoring, water testing and more continues. Among those who have conducted media interviews are David Kaplan, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Geography and director of the Environmental Studies Program, and Kuldeep Singh, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, both within the College of Arts and Sciences.

In recent interviews, both Kaplan and Singh expressed the need for more testing.

“The government owes the people of East Palestine as much disclosure as possible to measure as many things as they may be worried about and rule out everything they can possibly rule out,” said Kaplan during an interview with WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio.

ABC News reached out to Singh, a groundwater hydrologist who also teaches contaminant hydrology, to discuss whether the train derailment affected East Palestine’s water supply. Singh told the ABC News reporter that long-term testing is needed to ensure the water supply is safe.

“What happens today is only a diagnostic of that space and time,” Singh told ABC News. “What may not happen in one location might be another location, what may not be in one particular location in time could be in another location in time.”

Media coverage with the Kent State experts includes:

• Feb. 9: Is the air safe? EPA releases East Palestine air monitoring data (WFMJ-TV)
• Feb. 13: Independent experts discuss potential long-term health risks from controlled burn (WFMJ-TV)
• Feb. 14: East Palestine: Expert examines clean-up plan, offers insight, concerns (WFMJ-TV)
• Feb. 18: Professor: Oily sheen on East Palestine creek behaving like vinyl chloride (Akron Beacon Journal)
• Feb. 20: Experts react to dioxin concerns in E. Palestine after Senators call on EPA for tests (WFMJ-TV)
• Feb. 22: Did the train derailment in East Palestine affect its water supply? Experts say more testing is needed. (ABC News)
• March 1: Outside experts say citizens should stay away from East Palestine creeks as clean-up continues (WFMJ-TV)
• March 2: East Palestine bombarded by media in wake of derailment (The East Liverpool Review)

On Feb. 16, the Kent City Health Department posted an announcement that stated there is no indication that the East Palestine incident has any environmental impact on the city of Kent residents and visitors.

Original source can be found here.