Since September 21, 2023, Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower protection and advocacy organization, has been investigating the federal response to the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Through resident accounts, Freedom of Information Act requests, and whistleblower disclosures, the organization has revealed contradictory information and actions from the federal government with drastic public health impacts while residents continue to suffer from serious health conditions which they were originally told were not going to be a concern. One whistleblower, certified industrial hygienist Stephen Petty, has been a critical asset to the investigation. Though he was originally hired by the plaintiffs' attorneys to conduct testing in East Palestine, he encountered discrepancies in the Environmental Protection Agency's post-disaster response protocol and, consequently, the data it collected. Petty is not under discretion to share his testing results, but he has vindicated the testing results of independent scientist whistleblowers that have provided them with reason to believe that the effects of environmental contamination in East Palestine is much more serious than what government agencies and Norfolk Southern have told the public.
Stephen Petty (Wed,) studied this question.