Half Of U.S. Investigators Fell Ill While Studying East Palestine Train Derailment: Report

According to authorities, almost half of US government investigators experienced symptoms of illness while studying health impacts from the Norfolk Southern 100-car train derailment and the consequent toxic chemical fallout in East Palestine, Ohio. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that seven out of the 15-member crew, containing members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, felt symptoms while surveying homes of town residents in contaminated areas. Local and state authorities evacuated residents within a mile of the incident area and conducted a controlled burn of materials on the vehicle. Five train cars emitted vinyl chloride, which is a human carcinogen used to manufacture polyvinyl chloride, which led to the formation of massive plumes of black smoke visible in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. After the controlled burn, residents experienced health symptoms, which resulted in the health authority publishing surveys conducted at East Palestine Health Assessment Clinic that revealed over half of the respondents reported headaches, anxiety, coughing, fatigue, and irritated skin.

State and federal officials have repeatedly claimed that the air and water supplies in East Palestine are safe for residents. The EPA and Justice Department have filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, and the CEO of the company has testified before Congress regarding the derailment. However, while working from their hotels, some group members began experiencing sore throats, headaches, coughing, and nausea, which mirrored the symptoms reported by many of the town’s residents near the derailment site. Federal officials have not yet disclosed the cause of the investigators’ symptoms.

Two EPA contractors out of 100 personnel working on the derailment reported health symptoms after working in areas where the chemicals created strong odors. Despite this, impacted team members resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours, and no impacted team member has reported ongoing health effects. EPA officials, along with the Justice Department, are seeking penalties and injunctive relief for the unlawful discharge of pollutants, oil, and hazardous substances under the Clean Water Act. The complaint from the EPA and Justice Department said materials released from the train cars, such as vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, isobutylene, and benzene residue, have been associated with impaired fetal development, organ damage, cancers, and other health conditions with a sufficiently high degree of exposure.