By JOSH FUNK (Associated Press)
Government officials said that the aftermath of the fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio last year does not meet the criteria for a public health emergency because widespread health issues and ongoing chemical exposures have not been officially recorded.
Despite the forced evacuation of half the town of East Palestine and fears of potential long-term health effects from the spilled and burning chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency did not designate the situation as a public health emergency following the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train accident. The decision to open and burn five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride three days after the derailment heightened contamination concerns.
Emails obtained by the Government Accountability Project watchdog group revealed discussions about a public health emergency designation. However, EPA Response Coordinator Mark Durno stated that the agency only used this label once before in Libby, Montana, where widespread asbestos exposure caused hundreds of deaths and sickness. He argued that the East Palestine situation does not warrant such a declaration, despite some residents reporting respiratory problems and unexplained rashes. Officials also believed that the agency had enough authority to address the derailment without declaring an emergency.
Mark Durno explained that the reason they are not considering a public health emergency is the lack of environmental data on ongoing chemical exposures obtained through extensive air, water, and soil testing.
The EPA stated that the order issued to Norfolk Southern holding them responsible for the damage indicated that the conditions at the derailment site 'may constitute an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or the environment.' Therefore, the agency felt that a public health emergency declaration was unnecessary as it had the necessary legal authority to respond.
However, area residents like Jami Wallace observe evidence of a disaster in their hometown, such as reports on social media about children covered in rashes and experiencing chronic nosebleeds, as well as the return of chemical smells after heavy rains.
Jami Wallace questioned the notion of these occurrences being mere coincidences and asked how others would feel if faced with similar situations involving their own families.
Lesley Pacey, an environmental investigator with the watchdog group, expressed the need to ensure that East Palestine residents receive the assistance required to recover from the derailment.
Lesley Pacey, who works as an environmental investigator with the watchdog group, reported that she frequently speaks with residents who are experiencing new seizures and cancers, indicating that a significant amount of harm has already been done to these individuals.
Durno mentioned that federal and state officials are continuously monitoring for additional issues in the small community near the Pennsylvania border. The EPA is also conducting ongoing air and water testing in the area while overseeing the railroad’s cleanup efforts.
He repeated that none of the agency’s over 100 million tests of air, water and soil ever revealed concerning levels of chemicals apart from the soil immediately around the derailment that was dug up and disposed of last year.
In the recently revealed emails, an EPA lawyer tells one of its PR people it was “better not to get into this” when he was asked whether a document explaining the agency’s order telling Norfolk Southern to clean up the contamination from the derailment should include anything about medical benefits. That kind of aid, which could include Medicare coverage, is only available if EPA declares a public health emergency.
“But again there was no data suggesting that that was necessary. And to this day, there is no data that suggests that that’s necessary,” Durno said
The railroad has already spent more than $1.1 billion on its response to the derailment, including more than $104 million in direct aid to East Palestine and its residents. Partly because Norfolk Southern is paying for the cleanup, President Joe Biden has never declared a disaster in East Palestine, which is a sore point for many residents. The railroad has promised to create a fund to help pay for the long-term health needs of the community, but that hasn’t happened yet.
The emails also remind that the EPA was aware of the potential dangers of releasing and burning the vinyl chloride. But that was already made clear when the EPA advised officials on scene that phosgene — which was used as a chemical weapon in World War I — and hydrogen chloride would likely be created when vinyl chloride is burned and warned the public about that possibility.
The officials who made the decision to release the vinyl chloride — Ohio’s governor and the local fire chief leading the response — decided that releasing and burning it was safer than risking a tank car or more exploding.
Ultimately, Durno said the EPA found only low levels of hydrogen chloride in the plume of thick black smoke and no phosgene. And he said the agency took extensive samples throughout the area to monitor for those chemicals during the burn and evacuation even though weather conditions kept its specialized plane with additional testing equipment grounded on the day of the burn.
The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said recently that her agency’s investigation showed that the vent and burn of the vinyl chloride was unnecessary because the company that produced that chemical was sure no dangerous chemical reaction was happening inside the tank cars. But the officials who made the decision have said they were never told that.
The NTSB’s full investigation into the cause of the derailment won’t be complete until June, though that agency has said that an overheating wheel bearing on one of the railcars that wasn’t detected in time by a trackside sensor likely caused the crash.
The EPA has said the cleanup in East Palestine is expected to be complete sometime later this year.
Rick Tsai, a chiropractor who ran in the March primary for the U.S. congressional seat on the derailment, sees a bleak future for the small township the longer that it goes without the resources it needs to make it safe again — resources the public health emergency designation could help provide.
“People are on the verge of losing hope,” he expressed with sadness. “I don’t believe people have optimism anymore.”
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