5 days ago
EPA finds no deployment delays of specialized aircraft in train derailment response
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (WKBN) — A new report conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency's oversight office found that the agency did follow procedures related to deploying a specialized aircraft to detect airborne chemicals during the East Palestine train derailment.
The EPA's Office of Inspector General released the report on Tuesday after a complaint alleged the deployment of the Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology (ASPECT) did not follow policies and was delayed, leading to an unnecessary, uncontrolled burn.
According to the EPA, ASPECT assists local, national, and international agencies supporting hazardous substance response, radiological incidents, and situational awareness. Its policies state that an ASPECT aircraft must take off within 90 minutes of receiving the mission order during non-business hours.
The report states that on-site coordinators requested an ASPECT aircraft from a branch chief at around 10:30 p.m. on February 5, 2023. A written mission order to the aircraft was issued at 12:06 a.m. and took off 28 minutes later from Addison, Texas, at 12:34 a.m.
The EPA says that ASPECT branch chiefs can authorize aircraft deployment but cannot activate the actual deployment like contractors. According to the report, the branch chief could not immediately reach the primary contractor because they were on approved leave, and the substitute was not authorized to deploy aircrafts.
The ASPECT aircraft went to Pittsburgh after taking off from Texas and did not fly over the derailment site on February 6 because of 'concerns regarding low-hanging clouds and icing conditions.' However, two flight missions were conducted the next day, and the EPA said data collected indicated a 'successful controlled burn of the railcars.'
The burn and vent was conducted three days after the derailment of numerous railcars carrying hazardous materials on February 3, 2023. An NTSB report from June 2024 found that the controlled burn was not necessary to prevent an explosion.
The EPA said in the new report that documents procedures for ASPECT 'lack clarity and are not known to all involved stakeholders,' which could have 'negatively affected emergency response decision-making.'
To ensure that on-site coordinators can deploy ASPACT and are knowledgeable about performance procedures, the EPA is recommending the following:
Develop a formal, written Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology deployment procedure to include such items as a decision tree and to facilitate the timely request for and deployment of the Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology aircraft. Doing so would help ensure the timely receipt of and response to Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology deployment requests.
Regularly train the EPA on-scene coordinators on the new formal, written procedure developed in response to Recommendation 1. Doing so would better inform emergency response decision-making and help ensure the timely receipt of and response to Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology deployment requests.
Develop and implement a contact system, such as a central phone number or an automated routing system, to ensure the timely receipt of and response to Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology deployment requests.
Update the Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology fact sheet to list the full range of capabilities, including temperature sensitivity, and share the fact sheet with the EPA on-scene coordinators. Doing so would better inform emergency response decision-making so on-scene coordinators know the full extent of the aircraft's capabilities.
The full report can be viewed below:
epaoig_20250602_25-e-0034_cert2Download
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