Independent study underway on environmental effects of train derailment
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio - Researchers from the University of Kentucky are making efforts to conduct a new study using participants from East Palestine.
Launched on Sunday, this pilot study will evaluate the long-term environmental effects of February's train derailment and controlled chemical release. Those responsible for the survey say this is in preparation for a more long-term health study involving East Palestine and how its residents have been affected.
"The purpose of this visit was to actually begin to characterize environmental exposure," explained Erin Haynes, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University of Kentucky.
80 confidential volunteers from East Palestine received wristbands this past weekend to wear for one week, measuring air quality.
"That's going to measure their environmental air as they're going about their normal day," explained Dani McBride, Postdoctoral scholar, at the College of Public Health with the University of Kentucky.
According to a fact sheet, the wristband will absorb chemicals from the environment as the participants do their normal daily activities.
Analyses will include vinyl chloride and acrolein metabolites and we will screen for metabolites of butyl acrylate and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate. The wristbands are from the Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR).
They will be analyzed at Duke University by Dr. Heather Stapleton's laboratory. The wristbands will be analyzed for PAHs and chlorinated dioxins.
20 participants are also taking part in blood and urine testing, looking for toxins, like dioxins.
Four tubes of blood will be centrifuged for the collection of serum. It will take this much serum to determine if measurable levels of dioxins are in the body.
Immune function will be measured by Dr. Ilhem Messaoudi, Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. The liver and kidney function will be measured by the University of Kentucky Health Care laboratory. Haynes has asked the CDC to conduct the dioxin analyses.
"We're going to look at their immune function, kidney and liver function, and overall blood health," Haynes added. "And then we collected urine, which we're going to look for metabolites of chemicals that are related to the derailment."
According to a fact sheet sent by the University of Kentucky, a registered nurse or certified phlebotomist will collect about 3 tablespoons of blood. Participants will also be asked to provide a urine sample and height and weight will be measured by study staff.
The testing is to determine if chemicals related to the derailment and or their metabolites can be measured in urine and blood.
The study is part of a survey sent to people living in the area back in the spring to share their experiences and health symptoms.
Those working on the study took their daily samples to FedEx so they could be tested properly.
"After testing today, the most important thing we had to do was ship our samples safely," McBride said.
"The samples we collected need to be shipped overnight and stored cold," Haybes explained. "So we just dropped them off now and we'll come back tomorrow and collect another 10."
The study is not affiliated with Norfolk Southern or the EPA, and it working towards a much larger long-term health study in East Palestine.
"They deserve more and we hope to come back to be able to do that," Haynes concluded.
The group is here through the end of Tuesday and then the focus will be on analyzing that data.
This is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science.
