More EPA Testing And Evaluation Flaws Identified In East Palestine, Rosland Chemical Disaster Response

The Government Accountability Project has submitted new evidence to US congressmen from Ohio and Pennsylvania regarding methodological flaws with the soil sampling plan submitted by Norfolk Southern contractor Arcadis in the aftermath of the East Palestine train derailment and “controlled” open burn of toxic chemicals. Dr. Kevin Garrahan worked for nearly four decades with the EPA Superfund program and is now a GAP whistleblower alongside independent scientist Scott Smith, who has been interviewed by The HighWire for several stories related to East Palestine and other chemical disasters like Conyers, GA, Roseland, LA, and Moss Landing, CA. 

In addition to the latest GAP analysis, the government watchdog stated that Smith’s testing data shows rates of toxic dioxins have continued to increase. His testing data at Brushville Supply on Taggart Street increased by 350% from 2024 to August 2025, from 1,300 ppt to 5,300 ppt. Smith explained that there were three main contamination events – the derailment, the “controlled burn,” and the remediation.

Despite the increased dioxin levels in Smith’s August 2025 sampling, Norfolk Southern declared in September that it had completed its restoration efforts. NS states it will do periodic sampling and monitoring of waterways for 10 years and continue monitoring of groundwater for 10 years. The company said it has no further planned activities for soil remediation or monitoring in East Palestine.

Dr. Garrahan told News Nation that he was alarmed that an extensive dioxin monitoring program was not arranged by the EPA. He also said that East Palestine should be added to the “National Priorities List.”

Dr. Garrahan said he received no response from the EPA when he filed an official complaint with the agency he previously worked for. He told News Nation that there may have been very good reasons for them to conduct the “controlled burn,” but an investigation into the agency’s decision has not been conducted.

Dr. Garrahan previously called the burn “stupid and reckless” in a message to an EPA colleague following the 2023 derailment. He alerted his colleague to a 2022 EPA memo (the year before the EP derailment) reaffirming a final rule from 1987 that “open burning of nonexplosive waste could not be conducted in a manner that was protective of human health and the environment.”

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously met with Smith and East Palestine residents before the 2024 election took place. Residents who are battling significant health issues in the three years since the chemical disaster were hopeful that a change of administration would bring help to the people who are experiencing further deterioration in their health. Despite a visit last year by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Vice President JD Vance, there has been no federal support in the year since the administration took office. 

News Nation received a statement from the EPA – “Since Day One, the Trump Administration has prioritized EPA’s role in responding to emergencies, including East Palestine. In his first official trip, Administrator Lee Zeldin traveled to East Palestine, Ohio, with Vice President JD Vance, to mark the two-year anniversary of the train derailment. We will work to ensure the health and safety of the people of East Palestine.”

GAP sent an emergency Administrative Procedure Act (APA) petition to the EPA in 2024, asking the agency to warn residents about high dioxin and chemical contamination and to advise them not to consume produce grown in their gardens. That petition has not been denied or granted relief by the EPA. 

“From improper sample handling to eliminating standard operating procedures, the deficiencies are not minor. They are fundamental failures that hide the true extent of life-threatening contamination in East Palestine,” stated Lesley Pacey, Senior Environmental Investigator at Government Accountability Project. “Despite EPA’s statutory duty to protect public health, the agency has continued to publicly assure residents that it is safe to grow and eat food from their home gardens—even after independent testing found dioxin toxic equivalency levels in garden produce far exceeding background and state cleanup benchmarks. EPA’s failure to warn has left an ongoing exposure pathway unaddressed, compounding the risk of chronic illness and cancer more than three years after the derailment.”

Residents have experienced stage 4 cancers, death, respiratory issues, seizures, and daily headaches, among other side effects, in the aftermath of the chemical disaster. The HighWire has reported on issues with the class action settlement, including the attorney’s pocketing large fees while suppressing data showing the extent of the harm residents experienced following the disaster.

In addition to the EPA’s alleged failures in East Palestine, the GAP has documented failed testing protocols in Roseland, Louisiana, the site of an explosion at Smitty’s Supply, a manufacturer of motor oil and automotive lubricants. 

FOIA documents from the Government Accountability Project reveal that the EPA had collected information about a mixture of toxic chemicals that it did not report publicly following the fire. The 90GB of Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology (ASPECT) plane data was reviewed by GAP whistleblower Dr. Robert Kroutil, who is also the former lead software architect for ASPECT’s chemical- and radiological-detection systems. Kroutil originally blew the whistle in May 2024 about the EPA’s flawed response to the East Palestine “controlled burn.”

Dr. Kroutil’s analysis of the data corroborated Smith’s on-the-ground testing that identified several carcinogenic compounds, including xylene, toluene, 2-butanone, and alcohol-related substances in soil, water, and soot samples near Smitty’s supply as well as the Tangipahoa River and Lake Pontchartrain.

The HighWire reported about Smith’s testing results in Roseland, which found 18 times higher dioxin levels than in East Palestine.