Smith went above and beyond to help a community prove the deleterious impact of an environmental disaster in the pursuit of justice

On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Eleven of the train’s carriages carried a cargo of toxic chemicals.  Several of the derailed cars caught fire.

In the aftermath of the crash, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies made the unnecessary decision to burn the remaining derailed train cars, containing 1.1 million pounds of vinyl chloride. The message that was broadcast worldwide was that potentially harmful chemicals would not be found in the environment at unusual levels and that it was safe to live in the area, to continue to breathe the air, and to drink the water.

Independent scientist Scott Smith has been at the site of over 75 toxic chemical spills – including his own factory, which was inundated with tainted floodwater in 2006 - but the situation in East Palestine was one of the worst he had ever seen due to the scope of the disaster and the unprecedented mixtures of toxic chemicals released. The contents of the train carriages had been incompletely burned, causing particulates of highly dangerous substances – including but not limited to phosgene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins - to enter the atmosphere, poisoning East Palestine’s air, soil and water.

Exposure to these substances has significant long-term impacts on health, including an increased risk of cancer, and people in East Palestine were and continue to suffer with a variety of medical issues. Despite residents’ concerns, the EPA withheld and manipulated data about the levels of vinyl chloride and related substances. The EPA also did not take into consideration the mixtures of dangerous toxic chemicals and their lethal synergic impact. Residents were told to trust their government officials.

In fact, according to information acquired by Government Accountability Project, EPA knew that there were elevated concentrations of dioxins in the environment as early as February 2023. The dioxin levels at the site of the derailment were almost 20 times above the level at which EPA requires further investigation, according to the agency’s own regulations. These tests were conducted by a contractor working for Norfolk Southern, and the results were hidden from those at risk of being directly harmed. The EPA later demanded the contractor expand their dioxin soil study to the community but only due to mounting public pressure – not their earlier elevated dioxin findings.

Smith stepped in to help the residents of East Palestine, conducting environmental tests in houses and backyards free of charge. Smith has made 27 trips to the town and conducted 31 rounds of testing, which show extremely high levels of contamination from dioxins and other dangerous chemicals. He has spent an estimated $130,000 of his own money in conducting and analysing these tests.

Smith has experienced surveillance, harassment and smears by the EPA and others because of his independent testing in East Palestine. After a few months of exposing the EPA and Norfolk Southern’s false narratives, Norfolk Southern harassed Smith by serving him a subpoena in his driveway. Government Accountability Project also acquired Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents from the EPA showing that the agency was following Smith closely, sharing information about his location among dozens of colleagues, and trying to find his home address. At the same time that EPA was publicly maligning Smith and denying his testing results, Smith and Government Accountability Project discovered EPA withheld data that confirmed his findings.

Scott Smith is a deserving winner of Blueprint’s 2024 Impact Award for Positive Social Change.