EES Group founder and president Stephen E. Petty, P.E., C.I.H., C.S.P. is featured in a NewsNation investigative report examining environmental testing conducted after the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment and vinyl chloride burn in East Palestine, Ohio. Mr. Petty was retained as the testing expert by class-action attorneys representing residents. After those attorneys negotiated a $600 million settlement with Norfolk Southern, his results were never released — not to the court, and not to the residents who were his clients’ own class members. NewsNation has since obtained the data and interviewed Mr. Petty about what it shows.
Video courtesy of NewsNation — “Report kept from residents now revealed, shows toxic levels in East Palestine,” reported by Rich McHugh, August 20, 2026.
What the Testing Found
Mr. Petty collected and analyzed soil and water samples in East Palestine in the period following the derailment and the controlled burn of vinyl chloride. The results, together with other data sets he reviewed, identified dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) — among the most carcinogenic compound classes known — at concentrations above the cancer screening levels established by the U.S. EPA. As he told NewsNation, somewhere between 50% and 70% of the data points for dioxins or PAHs exceeded those screening levels. A screening level is not a cleanup standard; it is a threshold that, once exceeded, triggers an obligation to keep going. In Mr. Petty’s words, results above screening levels mean “you can’t walk away from it.” Further analysis is required both to determine what remediation is warranted and to understand what the exposures mean for the people living in that environment.
Independent Data Points in the Same Direction
Independent testing expert Scott Smith sampled in East Palestine on his own initiative and reported elevated dioxin levels as well. Mr. Smith told NewsNation that his findings line up with Mr. Petty’s data, and characterized the suppression of the results as astounding. Both men are whistleblowers represented by the Government Accountability Project.
What Residents Were Told
Residents interviewed by NewsNation describe being given a very different account. Several said they were told the test results were confidential, or that the numbers were not bad enough to support the settlement and would hurt the case if disclosed. One resident shared an audio recording she says came from a meeting with the attorneys, in which speakers describe the data as far less severe than anticipated and long-term health effects as effectively unprovable. Residents were also shown a video featuring a toxicologist who told them the community’s exposures were too small to expect cancers or other health effects. Mr. Petty’s response to that characterization was direct: the argument that there is nothing to see here is, in his assessment, factually false.
Where the Matter Stands
Nearly 90 East Palestine residents are now seeking to rescind their participation in the settlement, alleging that class counsel concealed critical expert findings about health risks while inducing class members to sign personal injury releases. A judge denied their effort to reopen the settlement in April 2026; an appeal is pending, arguing that class counsel’s own expert held opinions materially adverse to the settlement that were never disclosed before residents opted in.
Why Independent Exposure Analysis Matters
This case illustrates a principle that underlies our work at EES Group: exposure assessment is only useful when the methodology is sound and the findings are reported as they are. Sampling design, analytical method, and the correct application of screening criteria determine whether a data set can support conclusions about causation and risk — and results that are collected but never disclosed serve no one. Mr. Petty is a Professional Engineer (PE), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), and Certified Safety Professional (CSP) with more than four decades of experience in exposure assessment, industrial hygiene, and forensic engineering, and is the author of Forensic Engineering: Damage Assessments for Residential and Commercial Structures (CRC Press, 2nd Edition).
Read the Full Report
The complete NewsNation article by Rich McHugh is available here: East Palestine report kept from residents released, shows toxic levels in the town.