Rapid Response to the Norfolk Southern Chemical Spill and Chemical Fires in East Palestine, Ohio

In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine Ohio touching off a series of fires and ultimately explosions of hazardous materials. This chemical spill and fires released hazardous materials into Ohio and Pennsylvania through air and waterways. While East Palestine has a population of 4,500, ultimately, contamination was monitored and entered states with more than 37 million people. In February 2023, a volunteer Purdue University team of scientists and engineers deployed to the area to provide community scientific support. Since then, the team of more than 20 people now, and collaborators with University of Notre Dame, has uncovered unaddressed acute health threats, conducted air, water, and soil sampling, and their results have improved the trajectory of government agencies. Emerging results and firsthand observations will be shared.

  • Date: 04/21/23
  • Time: 12:00pm
  • Location: Zoom webinar
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EVENT SPEAKERS:

Whelton, Andrew

Andrew Whelton
Professor, Purdue University

Andrew Whelton, Ph.D. is a professor of civil, environmental, and ecological engineering at Purdue University and is an environmental engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the infrastructure and public health disciplines. He has often been called into nationally significant disasters to provide executive level support such as the Freedom Industries Chemical Spill, Camp Fire, Marshall Fire, and fuel contamination in Hawaii, among others. In February 2023, he led a team to help the community respond to and recover from the Norfolk Southern Chemical Spill and Chemical Fires in East Palestine, Ohio. 

Paula Coelho

Paula Coelho
PhD student, Purdue University

Ms. Paula Belmont Coelho is a first year PhD student in the Environmental and Ecological Engineering program at Purdue University and the lead student for the disaster response activities at Purdue. She earned a B.S. in Environmental and Sanitary Engineering at the Universidade Federal do Pará and previously worked as an engineer in the municipal and consulting sectors.