Vice President JD Vance and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin requested an independent investigation Friday into the federal government’s response to the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. In a joint letter to acting EPA Inspector General Nicole Murley, the officials called for a "comprehensive, independent" probe into the Biden administration's handling of the incident.
The request follows the release of an assessment by the Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower protection organization. The group’s report used documents from the Interagency Modeling Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC) to indicate that chemical exposure risks shortly after the derailment may have been higher than previously reported.
According to IMAAC projections cited in the letter, approximately 18,000 people were at risk of exposure to toxic substances at levels that could possibly result in severe injury. Specifically, the data suggested 17,972 people faced potential exposure to phosgene, a chemical used in pesticide production, while 312 faced potential exposure to hydrogen chloride. Researchers also found that a chemical plume resulting from a controlled burn of the materials eventually reached 16 states.
For the residents of the affected area, the investigation seeks to determine if the federal government withheld information regarding public health risks during the initial response. Vance and Zeldin said that identified shortcomings could result in changes to emergency-response procedures, environmental monitoring, or coordination efforts between government agencies.
The timeline for a formal response from the EPA Inspector General's office has not been reported. Vance and Zeldin stated that the results of the probe would be used to ensure accountability and inform future emergency response actions. The investigation would scrutinize the specific decisions made by the Biden-Harris administration and Norfolk Southern railroad regarding environmental contamination and long-term monitoring of soil and water quality.