EAST PALESTINE — For months, residents in East Palestine and the surrounding areas impacted by the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment and subsequent chemical release have been calling on responding agencies to perform additional indoor-air screening to ensure their homes are safe. On Friday, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Cincinnati, and Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, along with several other federal lawmakers sent a letter to federal Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan asking the same.

The letter, which was also signed by U.S. House members from Ohio (Warren Davidson, Max Miller, Shontel Brown, Emilia Sykes and Marcy Kaptur) requested robust air-quality testing of residences in and around East Palestine, citing concerns from residents and independent scientists.

“Numerous residents and certain experts have raised concerns about potential indoor contaminants,” the letter stated. “To prioritize the health and well-being of the East Palestine community, we suggest that the EPA ensure the availability of limited testing for compounds, including acrylate compounds and vinyl-chloride, in residences upon request, post-cleanup.”

According to the data available on the EPA website, Norfolk Southern third-party contractors with oversight from the EPA have conducted over 700 home reentry indoor air screenings. Most of the screenings were performed in March and no elevated levels of chemicals of concern were reported, but the reliability of those tests have been scrutinized after the EPA itself admitted the equipment used was seemingly ineffective. A draft statement from the EPA dated March 10 that was obtained by Politico through a public records request stated that “the handheld photoionization detectors (PIDs) used by Norfolk Southern’s contractor CTEH to detect the presence of chemicals during in-home air monitoring were not sensitive enough to measure the n-butyl acrylate at the public health air screening threshold set for the chemical.” The PID could detect levels at 160 parts per billion (ppb) and not the exposure threshold of 20 ppb. The draft went on to state “the Assessment of Chemical Exposure (ACE) surveys conducted in both Pennsylvania and Ohio show that many residents have reported symptoms that are similar to those related to exposure to n-butyl acrylate.”

The agency later released a redacted version of the draft statement that did not mention the inability of PIDs to detect threshold levels. Butyl acrylate has been a chemical of concern since the derailment which resulted in the spill of 30,000 gallons of the chemical when the No. 50 was heavily damaged in the crash, losing its entire contents.

The EPA has repeatedly said that all air-quality data has shown no concerning levels of derailment-related chemicals in the air, other than what is ubiquitous in the environment and considered “normal.” The senators’ letter stopped short of questioning the EPA’s explanation of the presence of those chemicals, but it did say such an explanation has led to lack of trust in the EPA by some.

“We cannot overstate the importance of transparent and proactive communication. While we recognize the EPA’s perspective that vinyl-chloride and acrylate compounds may arise from ordinary household activities, it is undeniable that residents’ worry about these compounds stems from the derailment,” the letter stated. “By allowing Norfolk Southern to skirt its responsibility to the community and refuse to offer this sort of testing following cleanup, the EPA risks eroding the trust of many in our community.”

The letter said if more extensive air sampling detects chemicals of concern, the EPA should direct Norfolk Southern to conduct necessary and immediate cleaning to remedy worry.

“Should testing identify elevated levels of these compounds, we urge you to require Norfolk Southern to ensure another round of cleaning as follow-up,” the lawmakers wrote. “This seems a small price to pay for the peace of mind it would bring to our constituents. By requiring Norfolk Southern to provide this clarity and swiftly address any lingering concerns, the EPA can bolster confidence and provide much-needed reassurance to East Palestine residents.”

The letter to the Federal EPA followed Regan’s trip to East Palestine on Monday. Regan met with local officials and visited the derailment site. He also conducted a round table with East Palestine high school students. It also followed an order from the EPA to Norfolk Southern to conduct further assessment of the contamination in Leslie and Sulphur Runs and perform additional remediation of the waterways.