Shell tries to quash air quality fears from Beaver County chemical plant | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When a #terrible #odor blanketed the area around the #Shell #Oil #cracking plant earlier this month, residents had only their noses and sporadically high readings from public air monitors to assess the situation.

Many were left wondering what they were exposed to and whether it was dangerous.

Shell officials hired a senior toxicologist from the consulting contractor #CTEH — the same company hired by #Norfolk #Southern in the wake of its derailment in East Palestine — who told the community that it was safe.

The levels of #benzene, a known carcinogen, detected at the fence line of the petrochemical plant in #Beaver #County PA were too low to “be associated with even transient discomfort or irritation,” said Christopher Kuhlman, the toxicologist that #Shell #hired to review air data and assess exposure.

But Anthony Pizon, chief of medical toxicology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine, who reviewed the air monitoring data on Monday, said “You can #smell something and it can be #irritating.”
“From my vantage point, it’s hard to go off those numbers,” he said. “I would look at the patients themselves.”
He encouraged anyone who thinks they were #exposed to anything #toxic to call the #poison #control #center at 800-222-1222.

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2023/04/26/shell-cracker-plant-smell-benzene-air-quality/stories/202304260075

@CazMnobody

The Company Testing Air in East Palestine Homes Was Hired by Norfolk Southern.

Experts Say That Testing Isn’t Enough.
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“It’s almost like if you want to find nothing, you run in and run out,” says one expert.

CTEH, the contractor doing these air quality tests in the area around the derailment, was hired by the operator of the freight train that derailed.

#Ohio #NorfolkSouthern #Safety #AirQuality #EastPalestine #CTEH

https://www.propublica.org/article/east-palestine-ohio-norfolk-southern-cteh?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post https://newsie.social/@ProPublica/110004352116532611

The Company Testing Air in East Palestine Homes Was Hired by Norfolk Southern.

Experts Say That Testing Isn’t Enough.
--
“It’s almost like if you want to find nothing, you run in and run out,” says one expert.

CTEH, the contractor doing these air quality tests in the area around the derailment, was hired by the operator of the freight train that derailed.

#Ohio #NorfolkSouthern #Safety #AirQuality #EastPalestine #CTEH

https://www.propublica.org/article/east-palestine-ohio-norfolk-southern-cteh?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

East Palestine toxicology test relies on controversial consulting firm accused of serving corporate interest rather than public health

The Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health ( #CTEH ), a private contractor hired by #NorfolkSouthern railroad to test water, soil, and air quality in #EastPalestine, Ohio, has a history of minimizing the effects of environmental disasters to satisfy its corporate employers, according to critics.

While the Arkansas-based firm provides consulting services to various industries, it is known for performing toxicology monitoring for the oil and gas industry following health and safety incidents.

CTEH was on the scene

* after a million gallons of oil spilled on a Louisiana town in 2005,

* after a flood of toxic coal ash smothered central Tennessee in 2008,

* and after defective Chinese drywall began plaguing Florida homeowners

— saying everything was fine.

In each of these cases, the toxicology firm was alleged to be supplying the data its employers wanted while falsely assuring the public that they were safe from harm.

https://kanekoa.substack.com/p/east-palestine-toxicology-test-relies