Recognizing “there has been a deficit of trust” in the federal government among East Palestine residents in the aftermath of the Feb. 3 toxic train derailment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan returned to the eastern Ohio village on Feb. 28.
Regan attended a roundtable with students and teachers at East Palestine High School and talked to small business owners before holding a press conference to commemorate the opening of the EPA’s “Community Welcome Center.”
Located in downtown East Palestine, the welcome center is designed as a resource for residents and business owners to “get questions answered, sign up for home air monitoring, and learn more about cleaning services,” said Regan.
“I can promise that as this community continues to look forward, we’re going to be here every step of the way—for as long as it takes,” Regan said. “We aren’t going anywhere and I can tell you, and you can tell by the storefront behind me, that we are here for the long haul. We want to make sure that the community knows we’re here for them, and that we’re bringing resources to bear for them.”
On Feb. 3, a 151-car Norfolk Southern Railway train derailed in East Palestine, a village of 4,761 near the Pennsylvania border.
Video footage from a manufacturing plant around 20 miles west of the derailment site showed an axle on one car glowing brightly.
A mile down the track, another facility’s camera captured the fiery axle.
About 50 cars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials, jumped the tracks, and a fire broke out.
On Feb. 6, authorities decided to release and burn vinyl chloride from five cars, sending flames and thick black smoke billowing into the sky once more.
Vinyl chloride is a chemical used to make PVC pipes and other products. The National Cancer Institute notes that vinyl chloride has been linked to cancers of the brain, lungs, blood, lymphatic system, and liver.
On Feb. 8, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine held a press conference and announced that the evacuation order had been lifted and that it was safe for East Palestine residents to return to their homes.
Since the derailment and the burn and release of vinyl chloride, residents in East Palestine and surrounding communities have reported headaches, nausea, skin rashes, blurred vision, and other ailments.
Federal and state authorities have said that testing indicates the air and water are safe.
Now that the EPA welcome center is open, staff members are likely to hear ongoing questions from residents about dioxins, which the agency defines as “a group of chemical compounds known as persistent organic pollutants because they break down very slowly once they are released into the environment.”
Dioxins can cause cancer, damage the immune system, create reproductive and developmental problems, and interfere with hormones.
EPA Region 5 administrator Debra Shore said that the agency will not test for dioxins, at least for now.
“Dioxins are ubiquitous in the environment,” Shore said. “They were here before the accident, they will be here after, and we don’t have baseline information in this area to do a proper test. But, we are talking to our toxicologist and looking into it.”
In a Feb. 18 letter Regan and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) Director Anne Vogel, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) expressed concern that testing for dioxins may not have been included in the agencies’ air monitoring processes to date.
“We are concerned that the burning of large volumes of vinyl chloride may have resulted in the formation of dioxins that may have been dispersed throughout the East Palestine community and potentially a much larger area,” the lawmakers wrote.
It can take decades for dioxins to fully break down and dissolve. They can settle on surfaces and plants, and in water and soil among other places.
“We did receive a letter from Sen. Brown and Sen. Vance. Our toxicologists are taking a look,” Shore said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any baseline information about the levels of dioxins which are produced also by wildfires, by backyard grilling, by a host of other things.”
Stephen Lester is the science director at the Virginia-based Center for Health, Environment, and Justice. He noted that there is concern about dioxins in East Palestine and surrounding communities because of the amount of farmland and livestock.
“I think they’re reluctant to test, because they know they will find it, and they will be put in a place where they have to address it,” Lester said.
“The level of dioxin that gets into a body, a person, an animal, a cow, that could lead to health problems is extraordinarily low. It does not take very much,” Lester added. “I’d be very concerned if I had a farm, especially if I was aware, as some people described in that meeting, that the black cloud from the burning had settled onto their property.”
One reporter at Regan’s press conference said he has talked to farmers in the area, and that they are concerned about the impact of dioxins on milk, beef, and other goods being sold.
“You know, I understand all of the concerns that have been raised on that particular issue,” Regan said. “We’re doing all of the proper analyses we can do along with the state to determine those safety measures.”
Regan added that the EPA is looking to DeWine and the state of Ohio “to lead the response on that effort.”
He also noted that he has heard residents “loud and clear” and is “taking their concerns back to Washington.”
The EPA’s response has been and will continue to be based on “science,” Regan added.
“We have a complete inventory of everything that was on that train and everything we’re monitoring for and testing for,” Regan said. “We understand the levels of potential adverse health impacts from those toxics or any byproducts. There are no gaps in the testing. If there are concerns or folks have questions like the legitimate concerns and questions that were posed, well, that’s why we’re having these conversations.”
Early in his remarks, Regan thanked President Joe Biden “who’s made every resource source available to help his community get back on his feet after the train derailment.”
“That’s why you see representatives from across the federal family, FEMA, HHS (Department of Health and Human Services), FRA (Federal Railroad Administration), and others, who in addition to supporting cleanup activities are leading public engagement efforts to ensure the community is kept informed every single step of the way.”
Biden, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and the Biden administration as a whole have been widely criticized for their response to the derailment and the subsequent release and burn of vinyl chloride.
Regan reminded reporters that, during his visit to East Palestine last week, he ordered Norfolk Southern to conduct a complete cleanup of the derailment area, including the removal of contaminated soil and water.
As part of the legally binding order, Norfolk Southern must reimburse the EPA for cleaning services provided to residents and businesses. These cleaning services will be completed by the EPA and government contractors. If Norfolk Southern refuses the order, it will require the company to pay triple the costs, Regan explained.
“In no way shape, form, or fashion will Norfolk Southern get off the hook for the mess that they’ve created,” Regan said. “As the cleanup work continues at a rapid pace, the EPA is awaiting Norfolk Southern’s work plan, which we will review and approve. The work plan will outline every single necessary step to clean up the environmental damage caused by the derailment. No detail will be overlooked.
“For now, we will continue to work day by day to earn the trust of this community and reassure this community that when the cameras leave, we will still be here—however long it takes,” Regan said.
Moments before the press conference ended, Regan was asked if he would let his children play in the local creeks.
“I would not,” he said. “I’m a father of a 9-year-old. I think we have to all agree that we wish this accident didn’t occur. The accident occurred and as a result, some of our creeks and our streams have pollution in them.”
While the pollution is present, Regan added, “as a father, I would not advise anybody, adult or child, to play in the creeks and streams.”
Regan reiterated that testing has shown the municipal water is safe in East Palestine, “but while we’re cleaning up this disaster site, I wouldn’t advise that anyone play in water that’s contaminated or soil that’s contaminated.”
