Purdue researchers warn Ohio train disaster testing insufficient

Q&A with a researcher, as Purdue teams report contamination state, federal officials aren’t looking for in East Palestine. Plus, March Madness reads, and more.

Several teams of researchers at Purdue testing water samples taken in East Palestine, Ohio, reported this week they’ve found contamination Ohio officials haven’t been looking for since a Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials.

And a lead researcher, in what has been a volunteer effort by faculty, students and staff at the West Lafayette campus, warned that state and federal officials in Ohio need to align how they test and what they test as cleanup continues.

“Otherwise, they’re just wasting their time,” Andrew Whelton, a Purdue professor of civil engineering and environmental and ecological engineering, said Tuesday. “And they’re not doing what they need to do to protect people.”