July 15, 2025
Uncovered EPA Letter Reveals EPA Negligence in Allowing Flawed Norfolk Southern Testing in East Palestine
WASHINGTON—An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) letter recently obtained by Government Accountability Project through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exposes EPA’s changes to Norfolk Southern’s dioxin soil sampling plan in East Palestine, Ohio concealed the scope of dioxin contamination after the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment and unnecessary open burn of vinyl chloride railcars.
Government Accountability Project is raising urgent concerns over this letter that proves EPA green lit Norfolk Southern’s removal of several key chemical compounds from their sampling plan. In the March 7, 2023, letter, one day after Norfolk Southern contractor Arcadis released its Phase I Soil Sampling Plan, EPA updated that plan to add a directive to collect more baseline soil samples at locations heavily hit by the toxic plumes. It is widely known that baseline samples must come from unpolluted areas to ensure an accurate measurement of normal environmental conditions. Otherwise, the “baseline” is meaningless, making it impossible to meaningfully evaluate the presence, concentration, or danger of contaminants and chemical detections above, at or below normal levels.
The letter validates whistleblowers Stephen Petty and Scott Smith’s earlier sworn declarations that EPA failed to perform proper environmental sampling in East Palestine by downplaying...
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