Weeks after a toxic train derailment carrying hazardous materials near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border that led to evacuations, authorities still say testing has not detected anything of concern.
Officials decided to do a controlled release of that gas, allowing it to burn to prevent an explosion. The burn caused toxic fumes to be released into the area, which alarmed residents about possible long-term effects after the explosion, including the occasionally strong odorous air they breathe and whether the water is safe to drink.
On Thursday, the US Environmental Protection Agency head traveled to East Palestine, Ohio, and told residents he vows to hold Norfolk Southern, the train company involved, accountable for its role in the derailment.
Meanwhile, Ohio officials caution the village of nearly 5,000 residents to drink bottled water and urge them to test private water wells while they evaluate the soil. No injuries have been reported.
And, at a town hall Wednesday night, East Palestine residents became angrier when Mayor Trent Conaway told them they wouldn’t get an opportunity to question Norfolk Southern officials to learn more about the derailment after the rail company backed out.
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EPA will ‘hold Norfolk Southern responsible’ after train derailment
A caravan of national and local politicians and environmental officials converged Thursday in East Palestine attempting to restore the community’s trust following the train derailment.
U.S. Senators J.D. Vance and Sherrod Brown, Rep. Bill Johnson, and Michael Regan, the administrator of the EPA, visited the area as residents remain worried about water and air quality, despite environmental tests showing no problems.
Regan said the EPA is “absolutely gonna hold Norfolk Southern responsible,” the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Regan urged anyone experiencing symptoms to see a doctor and alert their local or state health departments.
The agency is helping the state test the water and air, collect soil samples, and screen homes. Also, the U.S. Department of Transportation is on-site getting to the bottom of what led to the derailment.
“This is going to be a long-term commitment,” Brown said during his visit, echoing Regan’s comments. Brown said he wants to know more, including why the train was not classified as “hazardous,” and possible changes going forward.
“I’ll be satisfied when the people in East Palestine are satisfied,” Brown said.
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Biden administration paying close attention to derailment fallout
The White House said Thursday that teams from the federal health and emergency response and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will go to East Palestine.
The White House said that FEMA is embedded in the Incident Command Center in East Palestine and in constant contact with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Additionally, as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine continues to ask for public health support, the White House said it’s deploying teams from Health and Human Services and the CDC in response to conduct public health assessments.
“This is a multiple-agency response that are — folks that are involved, as you — the agencies that are involved, as I just mentioned — HHS, CDC, EPA as well,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday. “And they are coordinating with the emergency operations center and working closely with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.
“Our priority, as I said two days ago, is the health and safety of the community,” Jean-Pierre continued. “That is indeed our top priority for the moment as we look at what they’re dealing with in Ohio.”
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Residents voice their concerns: ‘It’s going to happen again’
East Palestine residents continue to express their frustration over the way the train derailment has been handled.
At separate meetings this week,, multiple people complained of rashes, headaches, and nausea, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
There have also been reports of fish and livestock dead in the water days after the chemical release and derailment, said local attorney David Betras, a former Democratic Party chairman in Mahoning County, who held a gathering on Thursday.
Betras told residents to keep a record of anything unusual that happened to their health after the derailment and controlled release of chemicals. He said signs and symptoms of illness may take years to show up and encouraged residents to keep a detailed diary.
“We don’t know what all of the long-term effects are but we’re going to find out,” Betras said.
James Wolfe, an East Palestine native who lives in neighboring Columbiana, Ohio, said he hopes the rail industry and local, state, and federal government learn from the derailment.
“It’s going to happen again,” Wolfe said. “They’re not going to do anything to stop it.”
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What may have caused the accident?
On Feb. 3, an eastbound Norfolk Southern Railway freight train, which contained hazardous materials, derailed on main track 1 in East Palestine, Ohio, about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and 21 miles south of Youngstown, Ohio.
Investigators examined the rail car that initiated the derailment and have surveillance video from a home showing “what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday. Its preliminary report is expected in two weeks.
The train was carrying a variety of products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, according to rail operator Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board.
What are the ongoing concerns?
The rail cars contained vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, and isobutylene, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a letter to Norfolk Southern on Friday.
Vinyl chloride is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, and officials at the time warned burning it would release two concerning gases — hydrogen chloride and phosgene, the latter of which was used as a weapon in World War I.
Ohio Health Department Director Bruce Vanderhoff cautioned at a news conference Tuesday that residents who were worried about lingering odors or headaches since the derailment should know that those can be triggered by contaminant levels in the air that are well below what’s unsafe.
The derailment also highlighted questions about railroad safety, though federal data show accidents involving hazardous materials at this scale are very rare. Trains were rolling past East Palestine again soon after the evacuation order was lifted.
Contributing: Tami Abdollah, USA TODAY; Kelly Byers, Emily Mills, Eric Marotta and Craig Webb, Akron Beacon-Journal; Max Filby, Columbus Dispatch; Chrissy Suttles, Beaver County Times; Benjamin Duer, Canton Repository; The Associated Press