As promised, Legal Insurrection is monitoring the response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, due to the chemical contamination that impacted the region. As a reminder, the town is close to the border with Pennsylvania, so residents in 2 states have been affected by the hazardous materials generated when responders decided the best response to the reactive substances in the tank car was to burn-in-place.
East Palestine residents are now asking for assistance from independent researchers to fill gaps left by authorities about the toxic chemicals that could still be affecting people in the immediate impacted area. They don’t believe everything government “experts” are saying.
Some independent researchers have arrived on the scene, hoping to help with more measurements and analyses. Others have been invited by residents who want a second opinion. The teams think they can help to fill the gaps left by authorities.“The residents had a disconnect between them experiencing some symptoms, and everybody telling them everything was okay,” says Ivan Rusyn, director of the Texas A&M University Superfund Research Center in College Station.Rusyn is part of a group of researchers at Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that drove a mobile laboratory around East Palestine on 20 and 21 February to measure air quality. Many of their measurements agreed with the EPA’s.But the researchers did detect levels of acrolein — a chemical irritant that affects the eyes, skin and respiratory system — that were three times as high as those in downtown Pittsburgh, some 80 kilometres away. (On a normal day, rural areas such as East Palestine usually have lower levels of air pollutants than do urban ones.) The scientists say that, if this level persists, it could affect residents’ health.
One investigator has visited East Palestine four times to test water, soil, and surfaces.
Scott Smith is the chief sustainability officer for Eco Integrated Technologies. He was impacted by a 2006 New York flood in which the water was contaminated….Smith tested Sulphur Run Creek Bed twice in February. He has cataloged the chemicals he’s found, but says no matter what the test results are, there is no need to panic.“Once you know what is in the creek bank, what is in the soil, what is in the water, what is in the air, you can then solve the problem. These residents can go to their medical doctors and get proper treatment,” Smith said.
Smith was recently interviewed on the Fox News Channel and indicated reports of children coughing up blood.
As of March 21, over 400 area residents have reported a wide array of post-exposure symptoms.
The surveys of residents began Feb. 21. According to ODH, 446 residents have taken the survey, which is available through healthcare providers or at the ODH Health Assessment Clinic in East Palestine.The top 5 symptoms residents report have remained the same throughout the survey period:
- Headache – 76%
- Anxiety – 62%
- Coughing – 54%
- Fatigue/tiredness – 52%
- Irritation, pain, or burning of skin – 50%
Meanwhile, a Pennsylvania school district is suing Norfolk Southern for negligence from the incident.
The Blackhawk School District in Beaver County is alleging “the toxic fires and deadly plumes dumped a lethal cocktail on (their) buildings, property, soil, and water supplies where deposits of the toxic materials have been found,” the complaint states. The school district is just over the state border and within a 15-mile radius of East Palestine.Blackhawk School District is demanding a trial by jury and compensation for its students and staff for injuries and damages causing medical problems, the risk for future diseases, and the need for future monitoring of its properties, the complaint continued.Norfolk Southern declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Finally, Biden’s continued absence from this disaster site has been noted.
In the seven weeks since the Feb. 3 derailment, Mr. Biden has made 14 trips outside Washington. He has made campaign-style speeches attacking Republicans in Las Vegas, Baltimore and Tampa, Florida, attended Democratic fundraisers on the West Coast and visited Europe to mark the anniversary of the Ukraine war.Mr. Biden has also spent four weekends at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, since the accident.Now Mr. Biden arrived in Canada Thursday night, where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau….Even Democrats have said the scope of the incident requires a presidential visit.“I do not care if the President is a Democrat or Republican—not showing up to an ecological disaster on the level of East Palestine for over a month is absolutely inexcusable. The damage done to this community and the environment demanded the empathy and urgency of a visit,” Nina Turner, a former Democratic state senator, wrote on Twitter.
Biden might have made less of an embarrassment of himself has he gone to Ohio.
The administration’s priorities have been noted.
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