Robert Kroutil, a scientist with four decades of experience in government agencies, told NewsNation that the EPA deviated from standard safety protocols when assessing the hazardous contamination around the crash site.
Kroutil alleged that the deployment of a chemical testing plane was delayed for five days, despite residents being given the all-clear to return to their homes after just three days. Residents who returned promptly reported experiencing adverse reactions, including rashes, breathing difficulties, and nausea.
"That deployment was the most unusual deployment I’ve ever seen," Kroutil said, referring to the testing aircraft. "You just wouldn’t do it that way."
Kroutil's career began at the Department of Defense, where he contributed to the development of the Airborne Spectralphotometric Environmental Collection Technology (ASPECT) aircraft. This advanced plane is designed to detect chemical contamination levels in the air. He continued this work when he transitioned to the EPA as a contractor.
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However, Kroutil claimed that the ASPECT aircraft was used in an unprecedented manner during the East Palestine disaster. He expressed confusion over why the plane wasn't deployed promptly, suggesting that crucial data on toxicity levels might have been missed.
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"In East Palestine, we had a big delay," he told NewsNation. "There was a big delay in getting the aircraft to Pittsburgh."
When asked why the flight might have been postponed, Kroutil admitted he was "still asking myself that question."
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Following the derailment on February 3, 2023, Kroutil stated, "We should be collecting data on the 4th, the 5th, the 6th (of February), multiple flights on the 7th. We should be there at least two weeks to monitor the situation."
However, he alleged that the ASPECT plane wasn't deployed until the toxic smoke plume had dissipated and many residents had returned home. He claimed that the aircraft only collected a fraction of the expected data.
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"The aircraft only collected data, eight minutes worth of data with the targets," he said. Usually, he claimed, it would have collected over 100 minutes of data.
Kroutil also alleged that the plane's chemical sensors were turned off over some creeks in East Palestine, a move he claimed was against normal protocol. He said he received no response when he raised these concerns with his superiors.
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In response, the EPA disagreed with Kroutil's portrayal of the response, stating that the ASPECT aircraft was unable to fly earlier due to weather conditions. The agency said, "EPA’s ASPECT plane was just one component of a comprehensive air monitoring and sampling network that included several instruments to collect air samples and measure contaminants at and around the site."
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Kroutil countered this claim, stating that the weather data contradicted the EPA's assertion. He claimed that the plane could have safely flown at 2,000 feet, rather than its usual altitude of 2,800 feet.
Kroutil also expressed concern about being instructed to exclude the words 'East Palestine' from his communications with his program manager. He speculated that this could have been a loophole to exclude those communications from a Freedom of Information Act response about the derailment. Consequently, he filed his own FOIA request, which he claimed was met with a threat of termination.
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"I was told that I’d be fired within 24 hours if I didn’t rescind my FOIA request," he claimed. Kroutil resigned after withdrawing the request, stating that his decision to blow the whistle was motivated by a desire to tell the truth.
The Government Accountability Project (GAO) is offering legal protections to Kroutil as he comes forward with his allegations. Lesley Pacey, a GAP investigator, criticized the EPA's handling of the situation, saying, "The EPA didn’t gather the chemical information that it could have gathered to inform first responders, the community, government officials, to protect the public. They could have done this and they didn’t. The question is why."
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