Why is Stephen Petty speaking up about East Palestine now?
“My job initially was to figure out: Was there contamination of the environment, and if so, to what extent?” Petty said.
Residents have complained of rashes, respiratory issues and other ailments since the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment.
Eighteen months later, none of Petty’s data or analysis has been publicly available to East Palestine’s residents. He’s bound to confidentiality, but is choosing to speak out now, Petty said.
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“I suspect there’ll be some people that are unhappy because it could have an impact on a settlement where the plaintiffs have spent a lot of money,” he said.
In his affidavit, Petty spoke in support of Scott Smith — another scientist who has been testing in East Palestine.
Smith has found elevated levels of dioxins and sounded the alarm for residents. The EPA has tried to label Smith as a fake scientist and so has the settlement attorneys’ team.
Petty also said something major has been overlooked.
The day of the burn, the wind shifted from the northwest, and the East Palestine evacuation zone to the southeast should have been redefined based on those winds, he said. It never was. Petty also accused the EPA of testing for dioxins in the wrong places.
“Of course, they impugned me for a while, saying that I didn’t know what I was doing in February,” Petty said. “And I said, ‘Well, we have to look.’”