(NewsNation) — Three years after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in Ohio, residents are complaining of health problems, and a whistleblower says the EPA failed to adequately monitor for carcinogenic chemicals.
Everyone goes about their daily lives in East Palestine, Ohio, but life hasn’t been normal ever since a Norfolk Southern train derailed there in 2023.
Frustrations are still building, people are still sick, and one independent tester says data shows things are getting worse.
Residents in the area say they’re now experiencing health issues like asthma, chronic cough, cysts, headaches, eye issues and cancer.
When the Norfolk Southern train derailed just outside of East Palestine on Feb. 3, 2023, officials burned five tankers full of 116,000 gallons of toxic vinyl chloride that was released into the soil, water and air.
Now, independent scientist Scott Smith says things are getting worse, not better.
“What my testing has found is repeatedly over time, the dioxin contamination has gotten worse,” Smith said.
He told NewsNation that’s caused by three factors: the initial derailment and fire, the burning of the tanker cars and ongoing remediation.
Dr. Kevin Garrahan is a nearly 40-year veteran of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program and an expert on contamination sites.
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