On February 23, 2023, California EPA (Cal EPA) finally released a “final draft” version of the much-awaited vapor intrusion guidance, Final Draft Supplemental Guidance: Screening and Evaluating Vapor Intrusion (VI Guidance) representing a collaboration between the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). According to CalEPA, the VI Guidance is a tool to help evaluate buildings that may be prone to vapor intrusion from underlying or nearby contamination and to assess potential health risks to building occupants. In addition, the VI Guidance is intended to promote consistency among the primary state agencies responsible for regulating vapor intrusion — DTSC and the Regional Water Quality Controls Boards (RWQCBs) under the umbrella of the SWRCB.

The Guidance identifies four steps to protect health and safety at contaminated sites. First, identify the buildings most at risk of vapor intrusion from the release. Second, screen for the presence of vapor-forming chemicals just outside the building. Third, test indoor air and beneath the building foundation. Fourth, based on testing data, act to protect the health of persons inside the building, which step in “extreme cases” could include temporary evacuation of the building.

Despite numerous comments during the public comment period objecting to the use of U.S. EPA’s conservative attenuation factor of 0.03 (which is

not based on California-specific data), the VI Guidance adopts EPA’s attenuation factor. According to DTSC and SWRCB webpages, data collected from investigations using the VI Guidance may be used to build California-specific attenuation factors for use in the future. Meanwhile, at least one empirical study using California data has already indicate less conservative attenuation factors are appropriate for California sites.

It remains to be seen whether the VI Guidance will in fact promote consistency in vapor intrusion investigations between the DTSC and various Regional Water Quality Control Boards – or whether certain local agencies (such as Alameda County Public Health Department) will use the VI Guidance. Some agencies have already been using the VI Guidance, including the U.S. EPA attenuation factor, since the draft was circulated over three years ago.

In general, however, the VI Guidance serves as a reminder that the costs and liabilities of owning contaminated property is not limited to the cleanup of subsurface media but to investigating potential or actual indoor air intrusion, identifying risks associated with indoor air intrusion, and managing and mitigating those risks. Effective risk management goes beyond compliance with the VI Guidance itself but include establishing a contingency plan for sampling outcomes and communicating risk with building occupants as appropriate.

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We’re on the ground at MWC 2023 in Barcelona, taking a look at all the latest tech. One of the more out-there propositions is the new Xiaomi AR glasses. They’re fully wireless, feature gesture inputs, and are just one part of the company’s smart home plans.

The biggest selling point is clearly the fact that they’re wireless, which brings up two key questions – latency and battery life. For the former, Xiaomi promises less than 3ms latency between a smartphone and the glasses, with full link latency as low as 50ms.

Sadly, Xiaomi didn’t mention anything about battery life. Still, while they are light for this type of device, they’re still heavier than normal glasses, so extended sessions may not be the sort of thing you’re looking for.

In our demo, we got to see an augmented-reality videogame, with the player sat looking straight ahead into the “retina-level near-eye display” and controlling the phone near their lap. They were blasting away strange creatures from the table in a tower defence game that reminded me of Dome Keeper. It didn’t look all that fun, but it does showcase the glasses’ abilities – though I don’t think this is what you really want to use them for.

While our demo showed off a videogame, this doesn’t seem to be Xiaomi’s focus with its new AR glasses. As you can see in the product trailer, the ease of use and the way it interacts with a smart home take priority.

You can use an NFC chip on the side of the glasses to connect to a smartphone, drag and drop videos from your TV for a more immersive experience, or scroll through web pages with a flick of your hand.

Sounds cool, right? And I think that’s the main thing right now. It’s a cool addition to Xiaomi’s tech takeover. As the company moves into transportation with its electric scooters and plans to make cars, alongside its countless smart home devices (many of which we’re yet to see in the west), it can manufacture every bit of tech you use.

The whole Xiaomi booth at MWC 2023 is like a techy Ikea. There’s the expected lineup of phones – the new Xiaomi 13 Pro, as well as offerings from Redmi and Poco – and then a nice row of mock-up rooms.

The entertainment room has an 86-inch TV (only available in China), a clever projector (sold out), and a water-vapour heating system that looks like a skinny cyberpunk fireplace. The living room has a clock, TV, air purifier, and some kind of mechanical cat-feeding tray. And then in the kitchen – well, there’s loads of kitchen stuff, all of which are smart and Wi-Fi connected.

The question is, then, not whether Xiaomi’s AR glasses are cool, it’s whether they can interact with the rest of the home in a genuinely helpful way. Personally, I don’t want to sit with a different pair of glasses on to play an augmented reality game – AR games have never been that much fun and I’m not sure they will be soon.

But, if I could look at things with my cyberpunk eyeballs and get key information, maybe that could be helpful; “oh look, the air purity in here is only three stars”; “oh no, the fireplace is out of water to vaporise”; “oops, the wi-fi connected cat-feeder hasn’t been refilled in weeks” – that sort of thing.

Right now, however, you can see most of the practical stuff you want from a connected smart home without too much effort – you just look at your phone. What glasses can do beyond this remains to be seen, and until they’re a little less bulky, a little more seamless, and a bit more stylish, this is nothing more than a cool concept. Which is fine and good, and Xiaomi knows it’s the case. It’s just a pretty cool thing.

There you have it, our hands-on with the Xiaomi AR glasses. Be sure to check out our other bits from MWC 2023, including the Xiaomi 13 Pro reveal, and the Honor Magic5 and Magic VS launch.

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The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has welcomed another intervention by England’s chief medical officer in the controversy surrounding poor air quality in buildings.

Professor Chris Whitty has called for offices and public buildings, including schools, supermarkets, and hospitals, to be regularly monitored for indoor air pollutants.

He believes that analysing the indoor air quality (IAQ) of many buildings should be made “standard practice” and that more investment is needed to tackle the problem in homes. He also called for investment in creating “indoor emission inventories” as part of a “roadmap to cleaner indoor air.”

This follows his 2022 annual report where he wrote that IAQ should be made a priority as it was becoming “an increasing proportion of the overall problem” with progress being made on tackling outdoor pollution. He also pointed out that most people in developed countries spent more than 80% of their time indoors.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has established that 3.8 million premature deaths worldwide are linked to poor indoor air every year out of a total of 8.7 million from general air pollution.

“Indoor air pollution hasn’t received the same attention [as outdoor air], even though it might cause almost as many deaths globally,” Professor Whitty wrote in a co-authored article in the journal Nature. “The lack of research makes it hard for governments to target policies and controls, while building owners may be oblivious to the health risks and how to reduce them.”

He added that IAQ was a complex problem because it varies dramatically from one building to another. He said the level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can differ by a factor of 1,000 in identical houses on the same street, because of different occupant behaviour or ventilation systems.

BESA’s Nathan Wood said detailed monitoring was a vital first step on the road to producing a more targeted IAQ strategy, adding that the technology was already widely available, affordable, and becoming increasingly accurate.

“The pandemic drew attention to the link between poor ventilation and the transmission of diseases around buildings – this accelerated the adoption of IAQ monitoring,” said Wood, who is chair of the Association’s Health & Well-being in Buildings group.

“We are now well placed to assess the scale and nature of the challenge, including analysing the cocktail of contaminants that can lead to indoor air being many times more polluted than the outdoors. However, showing someone that they have a problem is only the start. They must then be shown how to address the problem through competent professional advice and the use of proven solutions.”

BESA is also supporting the proposed Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill which is currently progressing through Parliament and would introduce specific responsibilities for building operators to meet IAQ targets in line with WHO guidance.

The Bill, which is also known as Ella’s Law in memory of Ella Kissi-Debrah, who died 10 years ago this month from a severe asthma attack triggered by air pollution, is being spearheaded by Ella’s mother Rosamund who has become a prominent air quality campaigner. She said tackling IAQ was “a great way to give people back power over their own environment and save lives”.

“We have to be clear about this…bad IAQ leads directly to deaths,” said Rosamund, who is Honorary President of the BESA group.

BESA has produced a series of guides on addressing indoor air quality and building ventilation, which are freely available on its website here. It is also an organiser of the annual World Ventilation Day, which takes place on November 8th.

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Intermodal Station Dome and Felipe VI Park / Ábalos + Sentkiewicz arquitectos

© Juan Carlos Esteban

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© Juan Carlos Esteban

Text description provided by the architects. The Logroño Intermodal Station project is the result of international competition. The AS+ proposal sought to take advantage of the burying of the train as it passed through the city to sew a spatially segregated urban fabric, proposing a positive reading of the city and its natural support, beyond the program of a train and bus station.

© Jesús RocandioSection© Jesús Rocandio© Jesús Rocandio

This urban project is an example of sustainable urbanism and circularity. Our proposal established as a first requirement to use this urban operation to generate a large public space that would balance as much as possible the historical centrality, generating a new pole of attraction to the south of the city. The idea that, instead of being limited to building an architectural object that would respond to an infrastructural need, efforts would be concentrated on removing barriers and generating a natural public space allowed for projecting urban centrality. The replacement of a physical and therefore social barrier by a Park that unites two previously separated sides has generated great attraction and novelty to live in the area and has promoted the social balance between north and south as well as an important real estate development around it.

© José Hevia© José Hevia

The project started when it was learned that Logroño has a large underground irrigation system from the Ebro. A quality that led to the creation of a large green space for citizens. The green roof that is created over the infrastructure serves as thermal insulation for the stations, which allows not only a great economy of maintenance of these spaces but also a hygrothermal balance against climate change. The park, for its part, integrates drainage systems that collect rain and excess irrigation for 100% reuse. This, together with irrigation through the different underground channels that exist in the city, translates into a large surface area for air purification and a great increase in biodiversity, which restores a natural condition to the urban environment.

© José Hevia© José Hevia

While the design of the Train Station focuses on the transition from the access to the platforms, the Bus Station, with its typical horseshoe shape, emphasizes in the waiting room the contact with the park on its roof through a staircase that seeks light and polarizes all space. The Train Station and the Bus Station are connected under that great urban dome with a span of 60 meters. This dome arose as a resource to give continuity to the upper park without interrupting the road that connects the stations with the center of Logroño and with the exit to the peripheral highways. The result is a monumental-scale public space that celebrates urban and territorial connectivity and gives identity to new urban growth.

© José Hevia© Jesús Rocandio

The complex was certified in 2022 with the international sustainability standard BREEAM Spain – Urbanism, becoming the second project to achieve recognition of this environmental quality seal in Spain. The park has also been systematically used by different international artists for artistic installations.

© José Hevia
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Landsea Homes Corporation, a publicly traded residential homebuilder, announced today that it has officially broken ground on Marlowe in Glendale, Arizona.

MORE INFORMATION: 10 hottest neighborhoods for home sales in Arizona

“We’re very excited to break ground on Marlowe and bring our newest collection of modern single-family homes to this desirable location,” said Todd Condon, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Arizona Division, Landsea Homes. “The convenience of Marlowe speaks to the needs of a variety of buyers, offering a tremendous opportunity to own a new, High Performance Home in a well-established location. Plus, Glendale provides incredible opportunities for recreation with access to regional parks, sporting events, and hiking and biking trails.” 

Marlowe will feature a modern collection of 80 two-story homes ranging from 1,829 to 2,526 square feet, with up to five bedrooms, lofts, bedrooms on the first floor, optional gourmet kitchens, optional primary bath configurations and attached three-car garages. 

The community, located near I-17 at the intersection of 51st Avenue and Peoria Avenue, will feature a thoughtfully designed central community park with covered playground and great lawn, as well as outdoor spaces unique to the neighborhood including a dog park, shade pavilions and benches. Sales are anticipated to begin this May. Prices begin in the low $400Ks.* 

All homes at Marlowe will be equipped with Landsea Homes’ High Performance Home features, including smart home automation technology utilized by the Apple HomeKit™ environment and energy savings to make life at home healthier and more comfortable. The smart home automation features include an Apple® HomePod mini™, wireless access point, and Wi-Fi enabled entry door locks, thermostat control, garage door opener control, light dimmer switches, also included is doorbell camera pre-wire, and white glove service with an individualized training session.

Homes will also contain the REME HALO® air purifier, a state-of-the-art product that mitigates indoor contaminants to keep residents safe and support healthy living by reducing airborne particles such as dust, dander, pollen and mold spores, killing up to 99% of bacteria, mold and viruses.

Homebuyers will be close to a variety of entertainment, sporting and shopping options including the Ak-chin Pavilion, State Farm Stadium, Gila River Arena, Westgate Entertainment District, Park West Shopping Center, Desert Diamond Casino and the Tanger Outlet Mall. 

The area contains some of the highest-rated public schools and is just a short drive from downtown Phoenix. There are a number of outdoor recreation options close by including the Arizona Canal Trail less than a mile away, Phoenix Mountain Preserve, Lake Pleasant and miles of hiking trails in the Sonoran Desert. 

For more information about Marlowe, visit: https://landseahomes.com/arizona/maricopa-county-west-valley/glendale/marlowe/.

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SpaceX’s Starship project has gained much attention since its inception. The sleek and futuristic design of the rocket has been a major talking point. While most discussions have centered on the Starship’s exterior design and technology, the interior of the spacecraft is just as impressive. Here is a closer look at the interior of the SpaceX Starship.

Aesthetics and Comfort

The SpaceX Starship interior design is not just about functionality, but also about aesthetics and comfort. The company aims to make space travel more comfortable and enjoyable for passengers. The Starship is designed to carry up to 100 people, which means the interior space needs to be both spacious and comfortable.

The Starship interior is sleek and futuristic, with a minimalistic design. The walls and floors are made of light-colored materials that give the interior a bright and airy feel. The large windows provide a breathtaking view of space and the Earth, adding to the overall experience. The design team has also paid attention to lighting, ensuring that it is soft and not harsh on the eyes.

Image credit: design freedom

In terms of comfort, the Starship offers reclining seats that can be adjusted for maximum comfort. The cabin also has temperature and humidity controls to ensure that the passengers are comfortable during the journey. The air circulation system is designed to minimize odors and ensure that the air is fresh and breathable.

The Starship also features an entertainment system that includes large screens that can display a range of content, from movies to interactive games. The cabin is also equipped with a high-speed internet connection that allows passengers to stay connected with the world during their journey.

Related: Complete Information About SpaceX’s Starship Engines

Technology

The SpaceX Starship interior design is not only visually appealing and comfortable but also incorporates cutting-edge technology. The spacecraft is designed to carry a large number of people and cargo to various destinations, including the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Therefore, the interior is equipped with advanced technology to ensure the safety and comfort of the crew.

One of the technological innovations that the Starship boasts is a regenerative life support system. The system is responsible for generating and recycling breathable air, potable water, and other resources required for the crew’s survival. This feature is particularly essential for longer missions, such as trips to Mars, where resupply missions may be infrequent.

Another technological feature of the Starship interior is the spacecraft’s communication and navigation systems. The interior is equipped with state-of-the-art communication and navigation systems that are critical for keeping the crew connected and on course. The systems also include redundant backups to ensure the crew’s safety and the mission’s success.

Moreover, the SpaceX Starship interior design also incorporates other advanced technologies, such as 3D printing, in the manufacturing of some of its components. This approach allows for faster and more efficient production, reducing the spacecraft’s weight and cost.

Functionality

The functionality of the SpaceX Starship’s interior design is also one of its major features. The Starship has been designed to accommodate up to 100 passengers, and its interior layout and features have been designed to provide comfort, convenience, and safety during space travel.

The Starship’s cabin is designed with a modular architecture that allows it to be reconfigured for different missions, such as carrying cargo or serving as a research laboratory. The interior also includes a spacious common area that can be used as a meeting room or a place to socialize during long missions.

The interior of the spacecraft also features a highly advanced life support system that is designed to provide a comfortable environment for the crew and passengers. The system includes air purification and recycling, temperature and humidity control, and radiation shielding to protect against the harsh space environment.

In addition, the spacecraft is equipped with cutting-edge technology that allows for autonomous operation and navigation, as well as advanced safety features such as emergency escape systems and backup propulsion systems.

Overall, the functionality of the SpaceX Starship’s interior design has been carefully planned and executed to provide a safe, comfortable, and versatile environment for crew and passengers during space travel.

The Restroom

The Starship’s restroom is designed to be both functional and private. The restroom is located at the rear of the spacecraft, and it is designed to provide maximum privacy for passengers. The design of the restroom is based on modern airplane restrooms, but it is more spacious and functional.

Conclusion

The SpaceX Starship is a remarkable spacecraft, not just for its exterior design but also for its interior design. The spacecraft’s interior is a combination of aesthetics, comfort, and technology. The Starship’s interior is designed to provide passengers with a comfortable and safe journey, and it is equipped with the latest technology to ensure maximum functionality. The Starship’s interior is a true reflection of SpaceX’s commitment to innovation and excellence.

Author

SunniyaZ

Hello everyone, my name is Sunniya Zafar, a writer, editor, designer, speaker and educator.
I am the creator and editor of the blog “The Globe’s Talk.” I created this blog to post my inspiration, work and free resources that I hope others find interesting too. Apart from this, I am also an interior design enthusiast.

See all my posts here: Theglobestalk.com

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A medical student of mine recently said he loved the smell of vanilla in the house he shared with friends who vaped. “That’s OK, right?” he asked. “Well no,” I said, “If you can smell the vanilla you are probably getting nicotine as well.” Nicotine is colourless and odourless, and is extremely well absorbed through your respiratory tract, including your nose, mouth, airways and even your ears.

Vapers exhale nicotine and chemicals, including the sweet-smelling flavourings.

Bystanders can then breathe them in. The lung defences of smokers, vapers and bystanders are overwhelmed by repeated exposure.

There is a lot of vaping going on in young people aged between 18 and 24. Despite a good amount of debate about the health effects of vaping, there is scant discussion around the risk of passive vaping and the consequences for the health and wellbeing of non-vapers and their right to inhale clean air.

Breathing out, breathing in

Researchers have examined the content of exhaled vapour from users in confined spaces, like cars, and larger venues.

Although levels were lower than for tobacco cigarettes, they described levels of the exhaled toxic substances as “ambient air pollution” that should be avoided to protect the health of non-smokers and non-vapers.
The evidence for the effects of passive vaping on the heart is emerging but researchers have compared it to passive smoking, which can clog arteries and cause clotting problems. Publications that demonstrate the harmful respiratory effects of passive vaping are growing.

Lessons from passive smoking

In the late 1980s, passive smoking became the impetus to change legislation around tobacco use.

Health professionals had learnt decades earlier from a study of British doctors who smoked that tobacco smoking caused immense harm and early death in smokers.

But later they began to understand that living with a smoker, working with smokers or having close repeated exposure to someone else’s smoke could cause lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, worsen asthma and heart diseases in a non-smoker.

The effects of passive smoking on children too were very concerning.

Advocacy groups began defacing or “refacing” billboard tobacco advertising and ridiculing their advertising. In 1982, I wrote a paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia called A Tracheostomy for the Marlboro Man about these efforts, the legal repercussions and the challenges from the tobacco industry.

By the 1990s, people had started suing hospitality venues and workplaces for putting them in harms’ way by exposing them to “secondhand smoke”. Successes led to changes in legislation.

Attitudes changed and non-smokers’ rights came to the fore. We were all able to live in a smoke-free environment in Australia for decades.

What does the law say about secondhand vapour?

In Australia, vaping restrictions are in line with laws around smoke-free areas and World Health Organisation recommendations.

For example, New South Wales legislation says people cannot use e-cigarettes in smoke-free areas under the Smoke-free Environment Act 2000. These include: all enclosed public places within ten metres of children’s play equipment public swimming pools spectator areas at sports grounds or other recreational areas used for organised sporting events public transport stops and platforms, including ferry wharves and taxi ranks within four metres of a pedestrian access point to a public building commercial outdoor dining areas in a car with a child under 16.

Vaping on public transport vehicles such as trains, buses, light rail, ferries is also banned.

But people are still vaping in their homes and other places where it’s permitted. The attitudinal change that made tobacco smoking around others socially unacceptable is yet to develop.

Are smoke-free areas enough?

Though debate continues about vaping, its safety and efficacy as a quitting aid, we cannot wait for years, to see the full effects of passive vaping. Based on the public health precautionary principle, today’s challenge is to engage and inform non-vapers, particularly young non-vapers, about their rights to be “vape free”, breathe in clean air and take a stand.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, near the site of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Two weeks after a train carrying toxic chemicals went off the tracks in northeastern Ohio, President Biden sat in the Oval Office listening intently as his national security team briefed him on a different train almost 5,000 miles away, ultimately agreeing to take a clandestine rail trip into war-besieged Kyiv.

His decision to make the trip won praise globally, but it further inflamed already brewing domestic tensions over his handling of the train derailment in the small town of East Palestine.

Biden had already taken a number of behind-the-scenes steps on the derailment before that Feb. 17 meeting – calling governors, dispatching federal experts to the area and receiving briefings from top advisers. It was seen in the White House as a by-the-book response to a nonfatal event in a lightly populated area, one that would require federal help but had not ballooned into a larger disaster.

But by the time the president arrived in Kyiv on Feb. 20, the accident in East Palestine had surprised the White House – and many others – by erupting into the country’s latest cultural firefight over identity, polarization and the role of government. And by the time Biden returned to Washington, his aides were battling accusations that he had forsaken a small, predominantly White town as it struggled with the aftermath of an environmental catastrophe caused by a multibillion-dollar company.

Many of the accusations were made by Biden’s political adversaries, abetted by a spate of criticism on mainly right-wing social media accounts, not all of them accurate – including the charge that federal officials ignored the crash, when they sent personnel as they normally would. Still, three weeks after the disaster, it seems clear that the administration was caught off guard, unprepared for the possibility that the nonfatal crash would become a prism for the country’s political battles.

“In an environmental crisis, the optics matter,” said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian who has written about the government’s handling of Hurricane Katrina. “There’s a lot of mistrust in the federal government, and there’s a lot of noise in our cluttered culture. So to break through that, you’ve got to be bold and clear and show some anger and deep humanitarian concern.”

Pedestrians walk down the street in East Palestine, Ohio, as cleanup from the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment continues, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Residents from East Palestine and the surrounding area line up to hear activist Erin Brockovich speak at a town hall meeting at East Palestine High School concerning the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

A president or Cabinet secretary would not normally show up immediately at such an accident site, in part to avoid interfering with emergency crews, experts said. But after the incident went viral, the absence of Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was seized on by conservatives to argue that the White House was uninterested in small-town America.

Brinkley said the administration erred in waiting so long to show that the president and his top aides were actively engaged. “It seems like they hoped that since the environmental disaster wasn’t lethal, that it would fade from the news cycle in a few days,” he said.

White House aides countered that the administration was focused on solving problems on the ground – testing the air quality, interviewing witnesses and providing technical guidance – while others played politics. Still, the predicament in East Palestine has only grown more fraught and frenzied, especially after the emergence of images of a menacing-looking black plume looming over East Palestine; it was the result of a controlled release of chemicals to avoid an explosion, but to some it symbolized the idea of dark threats hovering over small-town America.

In recent days, former president Donald Trump has arrived at the scene offering branded water bottles and political swipes; Buttigieg, his star power diminished by the crisis, has expressed regret for not speaking up sooner; and conservative outlets have broadcast a loop of images of dead fish and distraught residents to bolster a narrative of government neglect. Meanwhile, Democrats have cast the incident as a tale of corporate malfeasance, blaming Republicans for gutting safety regulations.

This account of how a train derailment, one of about 1,000 each year in America, morphed into the latest front in the nation’s culture wars is based on interviews with administration officials, lawmakers, rail safety experts, local residents, historians and environmental advocates, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Biden himself addressed the controversy publicly for the first time Friday. “I’ve spoken with every single major figure in both in Pennsylvania and in Ohio. The idea that we’re not engaged is just simply not there,” he told reporters. “Initially there was not a request for me to go out, even before I was heading over to Kyiv. So I’m keeping very close tabs on it. We’re doing all we can.”

A view of the scene Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, as the cleanup continues at the site of of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Activist Erin Brockovich speaks during a town hall meeting at East Palestine High School concerning the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Former President Donald Trump greets Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, at the East Palestine Fire Department as he visits the area in the aftermath of the Norfolk Southern train derailment Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

That was just three weeks after the three-person crew of a Norfolk Southern train received an alert about an overheating wheel bearing as they rolled through northeastern Ohio on Friday, Feb. 3. The alert indicated that the bearing had risen to 253 degrees Fahrenheit above the air temperature, tripping an emergency threshold, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday.

The engineer immediately applied the brakes and an automatic braking system kicked in, but minutes later the train derailed and several tank cars erupted in flames. Despite the fiery images of mangled train cars lighting up the night sky, it was not immediately clear that this incident would be any different from most derailments.

No one had been killed or injured in East Palestine. There were no initial signs of sabotage or negligence by the train crew.

Federal authorities were almost immediately alerted to the derailment and the fact that 20 of the 149 cars on the train were carrying hazardous materials, and within hours officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies arrived on-site. By Saturday afternoon, federal and state officials had begun testing the air and municipal water, detecting no concerning levels of contaminants.

“Anybody that lives on these streets, the air as of right now is still fine. Our drinking water is still fine,” East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway told reporters. But somewhat ominously, he added, “It’s a very – I don’t want to say dangerous situation – it’s very volatile situation and could turn into a dangerous situation if things don’t happen the way they should.”

The next day, Biden called Mike DeWine, Ohio’s Republican governor, to say the federal government was prepared to provide any additional assistance he might need. For more than a week, DeWine did not call back with such requests, saying the situation was under control.

But for many residents of East Palestine, a village of 4,700 in a deep red slice of northeastern Ohio, the assurances from DeWine and other government officials provided little comfort as they sought answers about strange symptoms, scoured social media for information and recalled past instances when experts downplayed environmental hazards only to reverse course later.

Then, on Feb. 5, with fires still smoldering, temperatures in one of the five tank cars carrying highly toxic gas began rising to dangerous levels, prompting fears of a catastrophic explosion. Residents were ordered to evacuate.

DeWine says he spent “hours” on the phone with Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro discussing the pros and cons before deciding to sign off on a controlled release of the chemicals. DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney described it as a harrowing choice between two “bad options,” each with potentially catastrophic outcomes: “controlled release or an uncontrolled explosion with shrapnel.”

Executives from Norfolk Southern told the governors that if an explosion occurred, shrapnel could rain down for at least a mile. Shapiro would later say the company’s executives had been secretive and misleading during the discussions. Norfolk Southern declined to make CEO Alan Shaw available for an interview.

When images of the plume started circulating online several days later, it helped transform the accident from a mostly local matter to a national flash point.

Residents were given clearance to return to their homes on Feb. 8, as federal and state authorities said they would continue to monitor the air and water. The EPA deployed a special plane to monitor air hazards, finding nothing of alarm.

FILE – A plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of the controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. After the catastrophic train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

A woman raises her hand with a question during a town hall meeting at East Palestine High School in East Palestine, Ohio, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. The meeting was held to answer questions about the ongoing cleanup from the derailment on Feb, 3, of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous material. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A group monitoring indoor air quality leaves a home in East Palestine, Ohio, as the cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed over a week ago continues, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

But when residents of East Palestine went back home, they began reporting unexplained symptoms. Some had headaches, others were nauseous. Some complained of itchy skin or dizziness. People also spotted dead fish in creeks and complained of odd smells. Animals died without explanation, adding a twist of mystery to the fast-unfolding tragedy.

State officials said that despite these phenomena, air and water testing showed no chemicals above hazardous thresholds. Some residents wondered why the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not show up, but officials said the case did not qualify for FEMA aid because there wasn’t massive home or property damage, which this accident did not cause (the agency later did send a team).

As questions like those created public confusion, misinformation circulated online, including some claims that the derailment had been planned. And social media users sometimes shared images from right after the accident many days later, making it seem that nothing had been done yet.

“We started seeing a lot of people on Twitter saying, ‘What the heck is happening right now in East Palestine?’ and it would be a week-old video,” Tierney said. “People were just thinking that that was happening live.”

At the White House, officials were focusing on other crises. Biden ordered military jets to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon and several unidentified aerial objects. His Feb. 7 State of the Union address, which did not mention the derailment, was animated by a tense back-and-forth with Republicans over Medicare and Social Security.

It would take until Feb. 21 – two-and-a-half weeks after the derailment – for Biden to comment publicly on it. When he did, it was on Twitter, and the president jumped quickly into the political fray. “Heck, many of the elected officials pointing fingers right now want to dismantle the EPA – the agency that is making sure this cleanup happens,” the president wrote in a long thread defending his administration’s response.

White House aides say the president has been privately engaged all along and that dozens of administration officials were adeptly handling fast-changing circumstances on the ground. “They quickly got to work holding the rail company accountable, containing the damage, and monitoring for environmental impacts,” a White House official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The official added that Biden’s “team has kept members of Congress and state and local leaders updated on response efforts throughout.”

Lynn R. Goldman, a former EPA official and dean of George Washington University’s public health school, said it generally is not helpful for top leaders to show up right after an accident. “High-level politicians showing up in the middle of an emergency response only detracts from your ability to do the response,” Goldman said.

Ohio authorities have been in charge of much of the response, and DeWine has made it clear he did not ask the Biden administration for more help, at least initially.

“The president called me and said, ‘Anything you need.’ I have not called him back after that conversation,” DeWine told reporters on Feb. 14. “We will not hesitate to do that if we’re seeing a problem or anything, but I’m not seeing it.”

Tierney, the governor’s spokesman, said in an interview the Biden administration has supplied significant help. “Did the agencies provide the appropriate response, and was the president and White House in touch with the governor frequently? The answers to those are yes,” Tierney said, adding that the EPA has been “extremely responsive.”

That is not the picture painted by some Republicans, who have taken notice of East Palestine as images of the derailment swept social media. Buttigieg – a rising Democratic star who has shown bigger political ambitions – started taking much of the flak. On Feb. 16, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote a letter to Biden asking him to fire Buttigieg, who he said “has repeatedly demonstrated a gross level of incompetence and apathy that is detrimental to the safety and prosperity of the American people.”

Some administration officials were struck that the accident was garnering more national attention, not less, as the days passed – the opposite of the usual pattern. “The interest peaked like a week after” the derailment, said Robert J. Hall, director of NTSB’s railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials division. “Usually it happens the day of and it declines, and by a week after nobody’s talking about it. In this case, it had a reverse curve.”

Fox News host Tucker Carlson used his show to bring race into the discussion, decrying an alleged lack of urgency by the government for a blue-collar community with few people of color. “Is it because these are not their voters?” he asked Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who agreed with the premise.

Minutes later, Buttigieg sent his first public comments on the incident, tweeting that he was “concerned” about the impact of the derailment and wanted to ensure that “families have access to useful & accurate information.” He would later express regret that he had not spoken out sooner, telling CBS News, “That’s a lesson learned for me.”

East Palestine residents listen to a town hall meeting at East Palestine High School concerning the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

A sign of support greets motorists following the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

A resident displays a mannequin on their porch in East Palestine, Ohio, as cleanup from the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment continues, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

By Feb. 16, EPA Administrator Michael Regan was on the ground in East Palestine, pledging that the government would penalize Norfolk Southern for the accident. Appearing with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) at the accident site, Regan asked the community to have faith in his assurances about the air and drinking water.

“We know that there is a lack of trust,” Regan said. “If we say that the water is safe and the air is safe, we believe it, because we’ve tested it and the data shows it.”

That same day, however, Vance visited a local creek he described as filled with dead fish and bubbling with chemicals. “I think if the EPA administrator wants to stand here and tell people that the tap water is safe, by all means, they should be willing to drink it,” Vance told reporters. Regan would later return to East Palestine and drink tap water alongside DeWine.

After DeWine asked Biden for help addressing residents’ questions about their health, the president dispatched teams to conduct screenings on-site, ultimately examining more than 500 homes and finding no dangerous levels of toxins.

But as contradictory claims proliferated and the crisis became increasingly polarized, some residents were not inclined to give the government the benefit of the doubt.

“I haven’t met anybody in town that’s satisfied with the help they’re getting from the federal government – or the railroad,” said Jerry Corbin, who lives just over the state line in Darlington, Pa.

He said the EPA collected samples of the ash littering his yard, but that he is still waiting for any follow-up to understand what sort of contamination rained down with it. Until then, he doesn’t know if he should be tilling his garden or planting beans.

“Is that wise?” Corbin wondered. “Maybe somebody should tell me.”

Others in the community said they were encouraged by EPA’s announcement Tuesday that it would take control of the disaster response and force Norfolk Southern to pay for cleanup. “I don’t like to be afraid, and the unknown is very scary,” said East Palestine resident Michele Parker. “I guess we have to hope for the best.”

But such concerns from residents increasingly have increasingly been drowned out by the political squabbling. At a town hall on Feb. 15, East Palestine Mayor Conaway, whose town voted heavily for Trump in 2020, told residents that he had only heard from the White House one day prior and that he had “no idea” where Buttigieg was.

A timeline from the White House states that officials attempted to contact Conaway by phone multiple times beginning on Feb. 6. Conaway did not respond to requests for comment.

After Biden visited Kyiv – part of a long-planned trip aimed to shore up the global alliance against Russia – Conaway told Fox News that he was “furious” that the president was abroad while his constituents were struggling. “That was the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now, he doesn’t care about us,” Conaway said, citing millions in foreign aid Biden announced during his trip.

The next day, Conaway said he’d been frustrated and walked back his comments, telling reporters his constituents did not want to be “political pawns.”

But Trump repeated the criticism of Biden’s Ukraine trip when he visited East Palestine on Wednesday, saying he hoped there would be “some money left over” for Ohio.

“You are not forgotten,” Trump told residents.

Buttigieg, who traveled to East Palestine the following day, has said Trump should use his platform to call for the restoration of train safety regulations that were rolled back during his administration. He added that he was working to improve rail safety and ensure that residents are getting everything they need.

“We will never forget the people of East Palestine,” he said.

As political figures fire salvos at each other, experts are pressing ahead on investigating the crash. On Thursday, NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy held a briefing on the board’s initial findings. Calling the derailment “100 percent preventable,” she pledged to get to the bottom of what happened, taking a moment to express her frustration with how politicized the incident had become.

“Enough with the politics on this. . . . I don’t understand why this has gotten so political,” she said. “This is a community that is suffering. This is not about politics.”

The Washington Post’s Liz Goodwin, Scott Dance and Colby Itkowitz contributed to this report.

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Friday, February 17, 2023, WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, EPA proposed to eliminate loopholes in state plans during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) in Iowa, North Carolina, and Texas that allow harmful emissions of nearly limitless amounts of air pollution.

In 2015, President Obama’s EPA took steps to remove unlawful SSM loopholes in 36 states, but the Trump Administration reversed this decision in Iowa, North Carolina, and Texas. This week’s announcement proposes to reinstate President Obama’s decision to remove unlawful SSM loopholes in Iowa, North Carolina, and Texas, and proposes additional actions to eliminate SSM loopholes in several additional states including Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, and Wisconsin.

During SSM events, industrial and power plant polluters can release more harmful air pollution during a single pollution spike than they’re legally allowed in an entire year, without consequences or reporting requirements. As long as these loopholes exist, fenceline and downwind communities can be exposed to nearly limitless amounts of soot, smog, and toxic chemicals.

EPA is accepting public comment on the proposal for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

In response, Sierra Club Senior Attorney Andrea Issod released the following statement:

“Communities have been fighting against these unlawful SSM loopholes for decades. They’re irresponsible and dangerous giveaways to polluters that threaten the health of vulnerable communities near fossil fuel facilities–which are frequently low income communities and communities of color.

“Today’s actions are a positive step toward addressing these egregious handouts to Big Polluters, but we still have a long way to go before we can achieve clean air for all. We encourage President Biden and EPA Administrator Regan to finish the job and close all SSM loopholes everywhere they are found in EPA rules once and for all.”

Sierra Club Healthy Communities Campaign Representative Bryan Parras released the following statement:

“These loopholes have prematurely shortened the lives of many of our grandfathers and grandmothers and cost the local economy $241 million dollars a year. This is an egregious and unacceptable reality for communities that are disproportionately overburdened by these illegal air emissions.

“Now, these SSM events are happening more frequently and more severely due to extreme weather as witnessed during the Winter Storm Uri, and Texans deserve to be protected from loopholes that perpetuate a culture of impunity.” 

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