WSU Faculty Drs. Donna Kashian and Judy Westrick discuss the train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine Ohio with WDET host Amanda LeClaire - Story below from WDET On Feb. 3, 2023, a train owned by the rail company Norfolk Southern derailed just outside East Palestine, Ohio. About 20 of the train cars were carrying a host of toxic substances and materials. The train came off the rails due, in part, to faulty brake lines, and according to railway labor unions, a lack of workplace safety rules and other labor issues. As of Feb. 16, we know the train was carrying petroleum, vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, butyl acrylate and other extremely hazardous substances. In what are becoming infamous images, the contents of the train were lit on fire by Norfolk Southern, creating a mushroom-like cloud of toxic chemicals above East Palestine. The rail company said igniting the substances was the best way they had to keep the disaster contained, but this is not the end of the damage these chemicals could inflict on the region’s humans, wildlife, pets, soil and water. It’s not the first — and certainly not the last — time a train carrying hazardous materials will crash here in the U.S. Wayne State University toxic material experts Judy Westrick and Donna Kashian joined CultureShift to discuss the hazards of the substances being carried on thousands of railways all over the country and also here in metro Detroit. Experts say we could see more toxic chemical pollution if policies don't change - WDET 101.9 FM Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the previous night in East Palestine, Ohio, remain on fire at mid-day on Feb. 4, 2023.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
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Ph.D. students, Maggie Sneideman and Katie Dwyer, B.S. student, Emma Fidler, and Ph.D. student, Brenna Friday (left to right), lobbied representatives in our nation's capitol. How do federal policymakers know what constituents are thinking? Sometimes citizens travel to Washington to tell them! This happened in June when a diverse team of Wayne State University students and faculty, including four biological sciences students, traveled to Washington to meet with federal policymakers. The team, assembled by the Science Policy Network Detroit and coordinated by James Williams, Jr., Wayne State's director of federal affairs, visited the offices of representatives John Moolenaar, Rashida Tlaib, Lauren Underwood, Peter Meijer, and Haley Stevens. The group voiced their support for bills to eliminate racial health inequities (Health Equity and Accountability Act), support for science research and education (America COMPETES Act), as well as a bill to advance birth equity nicknamed the Momnibus Bill. In addition to shaping legislation, visits such as this expose students to career opportunities in science policy and government. The Science Policy Network Detroit was founded in 2020 by a coalition of Wayne State students and faculty with the goal of bringing together the scientific community, citizens, and policymakers. You can learn more at scipoldetroit.wixsite.com/wayne. Ali Shakoor, PhD student at Wayne State University guest stars in Into the Outdoors where he teaches show hosts about fish and invertebrate sampling in the Great Lakes! Kashian lab undergraduates had a productive year. Students, Margaret Martinez and Maheen Kanji studied the impact of invasive bivalve shells on benthic macroinvetebrate communities under the direction of Ph.D. student, Darrin Hunt. They both presented their presentation at the undergraduate research symposium at Wayne State University. One student, Margaret Martinez received an award for best poster!
Another undergraduate, Molly McKeon receives the Undergraduate research grant! This will allow her to conduct research over the summer on sequencing and identifying water ticks in the Detroit River (?). |