Ohio train derailment: Department of Health to offer testing and physical exams for first responders

The Ohio Department of Health will provide blood and urine tests and physical examinations for first responders who participated in the aftermath of the major train derailment in East Palestine last month. This testing, set to begin within two weeks, is part of a plan to monitor the responders’ health in the long term after their exposure to potentially hazardous substances.

The testing will be voluntary, and the collection of information will begin with a specialized After Chemical Exposure (ACE) survey. More than 200 responders have filled out the ACE survey as of this article’s publication, and the Department of Health anticipates creating a clinical service in the coming weeks with many details still to be determined. The service would include voluntary laboratory testing, according to the department.

Approximately 300 firefighters from 50 departments, including many volunteers, responded to the incident which occurred on February 3, 2023. Responders faced equipment loss and exposure to at least five toxic substances, including vinyl chloride, when the subsequent fire broke out.

Also, a local church in East Palestine has decided to open its health assessment clinic permanently. This clinic will provide further resources for responders and community members as they recover from the incident.

It is not yet clear how the medical care and exams will be funded, but Governor Mike DeWine previously shared that Norfolk Southern, the railway company connected to the incident, would cover the majority of care costs.

DeWine also emphasized the need for Congress to adjust the requirements for hazardous trains. In the case of the East Palestine incident, the failure to classify the train as a “high hazardous material” train prevented officials from knowing which chemicals were on board.