Weeks after a train carrying hazardous materials derailed near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, FEMA said it will deploy federal resources to the area in the wake of evacuations and amid lingering health concerns.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday the Federal Emergency Management Agency will send a team to East Palestine. A few days earlier he said the agency deemed the state ineligible for the aid because it is “most typically involved with disasters where there is tremendous home or property damage.”
FEMA will send a senior response official and an incident management team to East Palestine.
Following the derailment, officials decided to do a controlled release of the vinyl chloride, 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.
Still, authorities say testing of air and water has not detected anything of concern.
Meanwhile, experts say rainbow-colored slicks seen on video in creeks near the site appear to be vinyl chloride. Authorities have confirmed about 3,500 small fish were killed in nearby creeks shortly after the incident, and a new federal lawsuit claims fish and wild animals are dying as far as 20 miles away from the site of the derailment. At least five lawsuits have been filed against the railroad.
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State announces East Palestine medical clinic
As residents complain of rashes, headaches, and nausea, DeWine announced plans to open a medical clinic in the village next week to evaluate those who are worried. The clinic will include a team of experts in chemical exposures, despite repeated assurances that air and water testing have shown no signs of dangerous levels of contaminants.
David Betras, a former Democratic Party chairman in Mahoning County 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.
EPA will ‘hold Norfolk Southern responsible’ after train derailment
A caravan of national and local politicians and environmental officials converged this week 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.
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 investigating 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 defends response
The White House on Friday defended its response to the derailment, saying it “mobilized a robust, multi-agency effort to support the people of East Palestine, Ohio,” including the EPA, National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies that arrived on-site within hours of the derailment.
“When these incidents happen, you need to let the emergency response take place,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday. “We did take action and folks were on the ground.”
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.
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Residents voice their concerns: ‘It’s going to happen again’
East Palestine residents have expressed their frustration over the way the train derailment has been handled. At a town hall Wednesday night, 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.
Residents voiced frustrations at a series of meetings this week over what they have said is incomplete and vague information about long-term effects of the incident.
“I have three grandbabies,” said resident Kathy Dyke at a public meeting Wednesday. “Are they going to grow up here in five years and have cancer?”
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 derailment?
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 NTSB 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?
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