On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.
The Allegheny Front has been covering this disaster since it first happened, along with our partners at 90.5 WESA in Pittsburgh and Ideastream Public Media in Cleveland.
Find our series examining the public health response and lingering questions about health and environmental contamination HERE.
Public health researchers say officials should have done blood and urine testing in the early days after the train derailment in East Palestine and follow residents for long-term health problems.
East Palestine, Ohio, is not the same place it was a year ago. Last February, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed there. Then, a few days later, vinyl chloride was intentionally vented from 5 railcars and burned, leading to an explosion.
Over the next three weeks, we'll explore what happened and what the fallout has been for residents. First, we hear from a mother who evacuated the town with her son who was experiencing horrific symptoms, and why they didn't go back. We examine the decision by health officials not to test residents for chemical exposure. We'll also hear from a researcher who thinks environmental regulators were too hasty in their assessment that the town was safe. And finally, we visit businesses trying to keep their shops open, some more successfully than others.
A mother and her young son escaped from the fiery derailment in East Palestine, but mysterious health issues and uncertainty still plague them a year later.
Vinyl chloride, used to make PVC pipe and other products, is a known carcinogen. It was vented and burned after a Norfolk Southern trained derailed in East Palestine.