Watchdog probes sniffer plane missions over Ohio train crash

By Ellie Borst | 07/16/2024 04:09 PM EDT

The inspector general is investigating a whistleblower complaint that alleges EPA falsified information from its chemical sensor plane.

This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, still on fire.

This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, still on fire Feb. 4, 2023, the day after the crash. Gene J. Puskar/AP

EPA’s internal watchdog is looking into allegations that agency officials grossly mismanaged key chemical detection technologies following the train derailment and controlled explosion in East Palestine, Ohio.

The agency’s inspector general office announced Tuesday it planned to evaluate whether EPA followed procedure when deploying its chemical sensor plane, known as the airborne spectral photometric environmental collection technology, or ASPECT, plane.

On Feb. 3, 2023, a train derailed in the small town in Ohio, spilling tons of toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, into the air and surrounding environment. For accidents like that, EPA deploys its ASPECT plane to fly above the scene and collect crucial information about which contaminants, and at what levels, are in the air.

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Two months ago, a former EPA contractor came forward with details on EPA’s botched plane deployment that led to delays, inconclusive data and falsified information.

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