Ohio officials claim the city of East Palestine is safe for residents to return to after the controlled burning of chemicals following a train derailment, but some people don’t think so and believe there are still serious health risks.
A Norfolk Southern train with 50 carriages, 10 of which were carrying vinyl chloride, derailed in eastern Palestine on February 3. The derailment spilled dangerous chemicals onto the ground and sent a plume of smoke into the air.
A controlled release of chemicals was carried out to avoid the risk of explosion. The residents were evacuated before officials carried out the controlled release, but have since been allowed to return.
When asked by Fox News Tuesday if residents should feel safe going home, officials said they should.
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A large column of smoke billows over East Palestine, Ohio, after a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains on Monday, February 6, 2023. About 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a clash of fire Federal investigators say a mechanical problem with a railcar axle caused the derailment. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
“First of all, I think, look, I think I would be drinking the bottled water and continuing to find out what the air tests showed. I would be vigilant and concerned, but I think I would probably go back home,” Ohio Gov. Mike said. DeWine.
Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, also said residents should feel safe, citing recent air and water tests.
“Look, we have very good data when it comes to air quality, and I think people can feel very confident in that fact, along with the fact that there’s still air monitoring going on. That’s very good. We don’t have any indication that the municipal water supply is not safe. However, we do have tests that are pending, and I think it’s a relatively easy thing to do using bottled water for a short period of time. I think people should be sure that various agencies Both the state and national levels are very serious about it, they are watching very closely and they are allowing any leeway when it comes to safety,” Vanderhoff said.
Testing by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency “shows no detection of contaminants in raw water from the five wells that feed the East Palestine municipal water system,” a Wednesday news release states. “With the results of these tests, the Ohio EPA is confident that municipal water is safe to drink.”
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Smoke billows from a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 4, 2023. – The train crash sparked a massive fire and evacuation orders, officials and reports said Saturday. (Photo by Dustin Franz/AFP via Getty Images)
Residents of eastern Palestine, Nathan Izotic and his wife Kelly, told “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that they are seeing the effects of the chemicals firsthand.
“We are seeing them locally and within our bodies. What we are experiencing: Local fish in our streams have died…oily sheen and coloration in our water…[the] constant smell of burning plastics and chemicals in the air… problems with our dog… vomiting, lethargy. It’s kind of scary here,” Izotic said.
Nathan Velez, another East Palestinian resident, said he has experienced persistent headaches.
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A train fire is seen from a farm in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP)
“My house is on the other side of the tracks…and it stinks too. You can’t spend a lot of time here without feeling like shit,” he said. “And my question is why, if it’s okay if it’s safe, and all these people say it’s safe, if it’s so safe and it’s okay, why does it hurt?”
The US Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it has detected no airborne health problems in the area.
“Since the initial derailment, EPA has conducted robust air quality testing (including with state-of-the-art ASPECT aircraft) in and around East Palestine,” EPA Great Lakes said in a tweet. “At this time, our air monitoring has not detected any level of health concern that can be attributed to the incident.”
In a statement to Fox News, a Norfolk Southern spokesperson said their representatives would not be attending Wednesday’s town hall.
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In this photo provided by Melissa Smith, a burning train is seen from her farm in East Palestine, Ohio, on Friday, February 3, 2023. (Melissa Smith via AP)
“Today, we hoped to join local, state and federal officials at a town hall to update the East Palestinian community on the steps we are taking to thoroughly, responsibly and safely clean up the crash site and provide the latest results of ongoing activities”. water and air testing,” the spokesperson said. “At the same time, we know that many are rightly angry and frustrated at this time. Unfortunately, after consulting with community leaders, we are increasingly concerned about the increasing physical threat to our employees and community members surrounding this event stemming from the increasing likelihood of third party involvement. With that in mind, Norfolk Southern will not be in attendance tonight.”
Fox News’ Courtney DeGeorge and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
