Typing errors in an official planning document related to the East Palestine train derailment response led to confusion regarding what chemicals were used in the cleanup, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

The Government Accountability Project, a non-partisan nonprofit group which aims to “empower whistleblowers to hold the powerful accountable and advocate for change,” published a report Jan. 13 which claimed that EPA, Norfolk Southern, and multiple state and local agencies "knowingly approved the open-air use of Acronal, a styrene-acrylate industrial polymer” following the derailment. 

That report turns out not to be true, though not by the GAP’s error. The EPA spokesperson told 21 News Tuesday that “a typo in the Health and Safety document” — a difference of one letter, in two separate places in the document — was to blame for the confusion. 

The GAP report was based on a Health and Safety Plan co-authored by EPA and CTEH, a consulting company which was contracted by Norfolk Southern. On two separate instances, the document lists “Acronal” as an additional chemical hazard at the site, and says the chemical would be “used to break down butyl acrylate … also to reduce odor.” 

The GAP took issue with the purported use of Acronal because, according to scientific experts affiliated with the group, the chemical is incapable of breaking down butyl acrylate — but it can trap toxic vapors beneath a polymer film, masking odors and making chemical contamination more difficult for air monitors to detect. 

21 News reached out Tuesday morning to each of the organizations who had signed off on the HASP at the time it was written, requesting an interview or statement regarding the claims made in the GAP’s report. This included the Ohio and U.S. EPAs, Norfolk Southern, the East Palestine Fire Department and the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency.

Heather Garcia, senior communications manager for Norfolk Southern, responded Tuesday afternoon to request a copy of the findings the GAP’s report was based on. Garcia asked 21 News if the GAP could be confusing Acronal with another chemical called “Acronel WS-27,” which she described as “an odor neutralizer assessed and approved for use by multiple federal, state and local agencies.” 

Hours later, confirmation came from a spokesperson for the U.S. EPA, who asserted that the agency “never used acronal during our response and cleanup at the East Palestine train derailment” and that the HASP “mistakenly referred to acronal when it should have been acronel.” 

“Acronel – also known as butyl buster – was used as one of many engineering controls to suppress the chemical butyl acrylate that was released from one of the railcars during the derailment,” the spokesperson said. “EPA communicated publicly about the use of acronel as an odor and vapor mitigation tactic, including during a presentation at a community information session.” 

While Acronal may not have been actually used at the East Palestine site, GAP Senior Environmental Officer Lesley Pacey pointed out to 21 News in a phone interview that the typing error means it was still technically approved for use in the cleanup by multiple agencies.

Pacey later said in a statement that the GAP is “reviewing EPA’s statement and will provide a comprehensive response as soon as possible. However, several serious and immediate concerns arise from EPA’s characterization of a ‘typo.’”