Vance demands probe of Biden EPA’s East Palestine response
Vice President JD Vance has called for an examination into the Biden administration’s handling of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, where hazardous chemicals were spilled and burned. The derailment involved 20 cars carrying toxic substances, including vinyl chloride, leading to health concerns among residents. Vance and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin sent a letter to the Inspector General requesting oversight of the response, citing potential systemic failures and lack of clarity.
Documents released this week suggest federal officials were worried about casualties during the burn but publicly shared less concerning information. There are allegations that evacuation orders were lifted prematurely and that testing for toxic chemicals, including dioxins, was inadequate, with some samples showing hazardous levels. Self-reliant experts and studies have raised concerns about ongoing health impacts, contamination, and improper testing protocols. The incident has prompted scrutiny over government response and transparency, with residents reporting health issues like menstrual problems, lung scarring, and rashes.
Vice President JD Vance on Friday urged the Environmental Protection Agency‘s watchdog to investigate the Biden administration’s response to a train derailment in northeastern Ohio that resulted in the spill of toxic chemicals.
The train was hauling 20 cars containing hazardous materials, including at least five toxic chemicals, when it derailed in East Palestine in 2023, when Vance was an Ohio senator. Some residents said they experienced significant health conditions after more than a million pounds of vinyl chloride and other toxins were burned, releasing the chemicals into the air during the controlled operation, which Norfolk Southern officials proposed over fear that the train cars could explode.
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Concerns also linger that there were systemic failures in the response to the crisis.
Along with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Vance this week sent a letter to Inspector General Nicole Murley requesting oversight of the Biden administration’s response to the train derailment. The vice president previously successfully nudged federal health officials to launch a five-year, $10 million research initiative to assess and address the long-term health outcomes stemming from the train derailment.
“The people of East Palestine deserve a government that is transparent and accountable to them,” Vance said in a post to X highlighting the letter. “If the Biden administration withheld public health risks from the community, they must be held accountable. Today, I am formally calling for an investigation into who knew what, and when.”
The letter from Vance and Zeldin comes after documents from a government watchdog released this week showed that federal officials were concerned about the potential number of casualties during the burn of the train cars. The information released differs from what was publicly shared.
Concerns have also been raised that federal officials lifted evacuation orders too early and allowed residents to return to homes still tainted by toxic chemicals because the processes the EPA used to test homes weren’t adequate for finding all hazardous materials.
Earlier this week, independent testing expert Scott Smith said 49% of his testing samples for dioxin in East Palestine exceeded the EPA cancer screening levels.
“It’s astounding in that it was suppressed,” he told NewsNation.
A peer-reviewed study released in June raised concerns that there “is evidence that the bodies of those who lived in close proximity to the site were still fighting and repairing from a toxic exposure.”
The Government Accountability Project in June said people who contracted with the EPA to respond to the disaster broke agency rules by collecting and storing soil toxin samples in plastic bags instead of the required glass containers, a shift that could lead to cross-contamination and inaccurate test results. A 2024 CNN analysis found EPA officials often relied on odor alone to detect certain toxic chemicals in residents’ homes instead of equipment, despite warnings from experts that smell could be an unreliable indicator.
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In May 2025, the Government Accountability Project raised concerns that the Biden administration downplayed data showing the “potential for cancer clusters” due to toxic fumes released during the derailment, citing new documents from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Residents in the East Palestine area have reported menstrual issues, lung scarring, and rashes, among other issues, while some have been advised to track their health with a medical provider in case they develop cancer.
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