State, federal officials continue to downplay residents’ health concerns after Ohio train derailment – National & International News – FRI 25Feb2023

Residents near Ohio train derailment frustrated with officials downplaying health and environment concerns. State and federal agencies dismiss fears about air, water and soil contamination.

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Residents near Ohio train derailment frustrated with officials downplaying health and environment concerns

Concern and frustration is growing in East Palestine, OH, and other nearby communities about the potential dangers and health impacts of a Feb. 3 train derailment. The train was carrying at least 5 cars full of vinyl chloride, a chemical used in making PVC piping among other things. Long-term exposure to this chemical, even at low-levels, is known to cause liver cancers in industrial workers that use it. Besides vinyl chloride, there were at least 5 other dangerous compounds aboard, all of which are highly flammable and have long-term health implications.

But exposure to these chemicals alone is not the only concern. Public health experts have also pointed to the risk of exposure to dioxins, a by-product of the controlled burn of vinyl chloride three days after the accident. Dioxins are also a dangerous carcinogen and, like some of the other chemicals involved, are known to affect the endocrine system. According to Steven Lester of the Center for Health and Environmental Justice, dioxins cause “cancer, reproductive problems, immune problems, diabetes- the list goes on, and on, and on.”

At the crash site, workers also used a firefighting foam containing dangerous chemical compounds called PFAS. These chemicals, often called “forever chemicals”, can persist in soil for decades, and could have entered the water and moved downstream in a plume.

Exposure to this cocktail of toxic chemicals is already having severe health effects on residents. The long-term prospects in the years following exposure can only be guessed at. But you’d never know there was any real problem going by the reaction from federal, state and local authorities. So far, the EPA isn’t even testing for dioxins or PFAS in the air and water.

Widespread symptoms and fears for the future

 Speaking to independent journalists, residents have come forward to share their experiences in the aftermath of the burn. The lady speaking in this video lives 15 miles away from East Palestine. She reported a strong smell in the air, burning eyes and throat, headaches and gastrointestinal bleeding.

She later followed up saying that her doctor confirmed her symptoms were consistent to exposure to these chemicals and that many others had come into his practice with the same symptoms. According to her statement, her doctor also said that there was so little information coming from authorities that local medical professionals were unsure how to proceed. He advised the woman to come in for monthly chest x-rays “to be proactive if anything should start to form”.

This woman’s account is consistent with numerous other nearby residents who have spoken out. Residents say a strong chemical smell still permeates the air. Some describe it as smelling like burning rubber and others say it is similar to formaldehyde. People from miles around are experiencing burning eyes and throats, as well as rashes and severe gastric disorders.

The state of Ohio has opened a free clinic to allay locals’ health concerns. At the clinic, locals can speak to registered nurses, toxicologists and mental health professionals. However, the clinic does not provide prescriptions, blood or urine screenings, conduct any vital sign monitoring or any diagnostic services. 

Contaminated water

Others have pointed to the huge die-off of fish and other animals in nearby waterways. Initially, official reports said that about 3000 fish had died. Now that number is up to nearly 44,000, and includes fish, reptiles and amphibians.

Despite this alarming fact, Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, seemed rather unconcerned about the long-term environmental impact. While she acknowledged that the waterways were contaminated, she expressed optimism about live fish having returned to one local waterway. Mertz also said that there was no sign of animals in distress in the Ohio River, where these waterways ultimately empty out. Mertz said she believed the damage had been minimized, “because the chemicals were contained”. 

Local reports tell a different story. In this video and this video, journalists and locals drop rocks into areas of water that have supposedly been cleaned. An oily rainbow-colored substance (similar to antifreeze puddling on your driveway) immediately bubbles up to the surface. They also report that the water smells strongly after the water is disturbed. 

Residents are understandably concerned about their drinking water being contaminated. Ohio officials have urged people that use well water and women that are pregnant, nursing or using water to make baby formula to use bottled water.

However, state and federal health and environmental agencies have consistently downplayed residents’ concerns that these chemicals could penetrate the ground water. Ohio EPA officials went so far as to pose for a photo-op drinking local water.

Sass says, “It could take days, or weeks, or months [for petrochemicals] to reach groundwater tables or to reach surface water. But it will, these chemicals don’t go away. They will get into those soil and water tables”.

Air quality concerns

The Ohio State EPA and the US EPA have said that their air quality testing haven’t shown levels of chemicals in the air beyond the normal range, including in local homes. However, anecdotal reports paint a different picture. Speaking to StatusCoup, a resident told journalists about one of her neighbors who lived close to one of the contaminated creek. The neighbor’s house had been condemned and her moving costs had been covered, presumably by Norfolk Southern. This only happened after the neighbor insisted on additional testing, after initial testing showed normal levels of chemicals in the air in her home. 

Independent scientists and experts say the agencies’ testing methodology is flawed. The instruments they are using are not sensitive enough and their sampling hasn’t been sufficient to determine the danger posed by chemicals in the air.

Local residents are frustrated with having their concerns dismissed by the agencies, especially with a strong petrochemical smell still hanging in the air. Scientist Jennifer Sass of the National Resource Defense Council says they have good reason to be concerned. Sass says, “If you can smell it, it’s already at levels that’s concerning“. She went on to say that, “There are levels below what we can smell it at that I would still be concerned about”. 

Nothing to see here

Tim Whitehouse, a former EPA enforcement attorney says, “There is strong pressure in these situations to create an air of normalcy. But the danger is that the EPA and state officials are moving too quickly and without proper information”.

Whitehouse also pointed out that the agency has a history of declaring a situation safe even when they have evidence indicating otherwise. For example, following the 9/11 disaster, they declared the air around the World Trade Center site safe. We now know that the agency had data at the time showing that it wasn’t. Particulates stirring in the air after the attack caused rare cancers and premature deaths among first responders.

The Ohio EPA’s photo-op is also reminiscent of former President Barack Obama drinking water from Flint, MI, in 2016. Long after that, the people of Flint faced dangerously high levels of lead in their drinking water, as well as several outbreaks of Legionnaires Disease.

For more on this, I encourage you to check out StatusCoup’s twitter feed. 

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