Biden Declines to Visit Ohio Toxic Train Wreck Site, Orders Door-to-Door Checks Instead

President Joe Biden departs from at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., on Feb. 16, 2023. Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

President Joe Biden has ordered federal officials to do door-to-door checks on families in East Palestine, Ohio, but said he has no immediate plans to visit the village where a train derailed three weeks ago, spilling toxic chemicals.

The White House said Biden has directed teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to visit East Palestine homes starting on Saturday.

The “walk teams” will check in on residents to see how they’re doing and what they need, and to connect them with federal and nonprofit resources as locals still reel from the derailment fallout.

Biden directed the teams to do as many checks as possible, with officials saying the near-term aim is to get to at least 400 homes.

A resident displays a mannequin on their porch in East Palestine, Ohio, as cleanup from the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment continues, on Feb. 24, 2023. Matt Freed/AP Photo

No Plans to Visit

Asked by reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday whether he, personally, planned to visit East Palestine, the president said, “This time, I’m not.”

Biden said he had done a long meeting with his team on Zoom to get an update on the response.

“We were there two hours after the train went down,” Biden said. “I’ve spoken with every single major figure in both Pennsylvania and Ohio. So the idea that we’re not engaged is simply not there.”

“I’m keeping very close tabs on it,” Biden added. “We’re doing all we can.”

A pedestrian walks down a street in East Palestine, Ohio, as cleanup from the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment continues, on Feb. 24, 2023. Matt Freed/AP Photo

Biden faced criticism from the mayor of East Palestine for visiting Ukraine on Presidents’ Day instead of the derailment site.

The president met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Feb. 20, where he announced an additional $500 million in aid to the beleaguered country.

“That was the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now, he doesn’t care about us,” East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said in an appearance on Fox News when asked his thoughts on Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv.

Conaway said Biden “can send every agency he wants” to East Palestine but the president’s presence in Kyiv where he gave “millions of dollars away to people over there, not to us,” made the mayor “furious.”

Biden was asked in an interview with ABC on Saturday about the East Palestine mayor’s criticism.

The president replied by suggesting Conaway’s criticism was unfounded, saying that the EPA was at the site of the derailment within two hours and that other major agencies were engaged in the response.

A man raises his hand with a question for East Palestine, Ohio, Mayor Trent Conaway (C) during a town hall meeting at East Palestine High School in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 15, 2023. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

‘My Voice Sounds Like Mickey Mouse’

The Feb. 3 derailment, which caused a fire that sent smoke from toxic chemicals billowing into the air, prompted the evacuation of East Palestine’s 5,000 or so residents.

While evacuation orders were lifted on Feb. 8, many locals have said they’ve experienced symptoms after returning, including sore throats, rashes, and trouble breathing.

One resident, Wade Lovett, told The New York Post he’s been having breathing problems and his voice has a higher pitch like when someone inhales helium gas.

“My voice sounds like Mickey Mouse,“ he told the outlet. ”It’s hard to breathe, especially at night. My chest hurts so much at night I feel like I’m drowning. I cough up phlegm a lot.”

ONG 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system (LIDS) in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 7, 2023. Ohio National Guard via AP

Long-Term Health Concerns

Federal regulators have said the air and water are safe in the village, but an analysis of EPA data by researchers at Texas A&M University found over half a dozen pollutants in the air in and around East Palestine that, if they persist at current levels, could raise long-term health concerns.

EPA officials responded to the analysis by saying that the levels of 79 chemicals they’re monitoring for air quality determinations are below levels of concern for short-term exposure and that they'll probably dissipate before they can have a negative impact on health over the longer term.

They said the Texas A&M University study assumes exposure to the chemicals at current concentrations over a lifetime, which they said is highly unlikely.

“We are committed to staying in East Palestine and will continue to monitor the air inside and outside of homes to ensure that these levels remain safe over time,” EPA told The Epoch Times.

Ron Fodo, of Ohio EPA Emergency Response, looks for signs of fish and also agitates the water in Leslie Run creek to check for chemicals that have settled at the bottom following a train derailment that is causing environmental concerns in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 20, 2023. Michael Swensen/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Weihsueh Chiu, one of the Texas A&M researchers, told The Washington Post that it would take months or years for the air pollutants to have an impact on health. He added, however, that some of those chemicals can trigger eye and lung irritation.

Norfolk Southern, the operator of the train, apologized on Wednesday at a CNN town hall event where residents voiced their concerns about contamination of the soil and groundwater.

After Norfolk Southern executives failed to attend an earlier meeting in East Palestine, EPA ordered them to attend town hall events and face concerned residents.

The Biden administration has said Norfolk Southern must pay for the clean-up efforts and the damage caused by the derailment.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.