Top Biden Official Admits It’s ‘Hard’ to ‘Trust the Government’ After Toxic Train Derailment

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan speaks during a press conference in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 16, 2023. Reuters/Alan Freed

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday acknowledged there’s a “lack of trust” in the Biden administration as he visited the site of an Ohio train derailment where toxic chemicals were spilled or burned off and where residents fear for the safety of their air and drinking water.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan on Thursday traveled to the town of East Palestine, where he walked along a creek that still reeks of chemicals after the Feb. 3 derailment that caused a fire and sent a cloud of smoke over the town.

“This incident has understandably shaken this community to its core,” Regan said at a press conference.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan (L) walks with staff through East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 16, 2023. Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP

While recognizing that trust in the government was sparse in East Palestine, Regan urged residents to have confidence in the air screening and water testing carried out by the EPA in local homes, wells, and the municipal water system.

He said nearly 500 homes close to the derailment site had been tested and that none of the toxins that were on the train were found in the air.

Testing of municipal water has also found no contamination, he added.

Regan did, however, urge residents who use private wells to continue using bottled water and get their wells tested for possible toxins.

Booms are placed in a stream that flows through the center of East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 15, 2023. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

The official told wary locals to “trust the government” as he sought to reassure them that their water is fit for consumption and the air safe to breathe.

However, he acknowledged, “that’s hard. We know that there is a lack of trust, which is why the state and the federal government have pledged to be very transparent.”

Some locals have reported that their pets and livestock have shown concerning symptoms like vomiting and liquid diarrhea.

Vinyl chloride, the chemical that was released from five rail cars and incinerated in a controlled burn to prevent an explosion, has a range of potential impacts on animal and human health, including cancer of the liver and other organs.

A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of the controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern train, on Feb. 6, 2023. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

The derailment prompted the temporary evacuation of East Palestine’s 5,000 or so residents.

The EPA said in a Feb. 16 update that it had screened 486 homes and tested 28 private wells. It recommended that any resident getting water from a private well should schedule an appointment for well testing.

Trust the Science, Trust the Ratings

Regan was asked by a concerned resident if he and other officials would allow their own children to drink the water in East Palestine.

“If those homes have been tested by the state and given a clean bill of health, yes, as a father, I trust the science,” Regan said.

“Based on the work that the state has done to test the water, the air and the water are safe for those residents that we have deemed being safe,” Regan said, encouraging such individuals to “come back” to their homes.

He added that residents whose homes or wells have not been tested should contact the EPA to get them checked out.

But he insisted that he would “trust the ratings.”

Ohio EPA officials tour the damage in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 16, 2023. Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP

“If we say that the water is safe, and the air is safe, we believe it because we tested it and the data shows it,” Regan said.

Residents Report Symptoms

Since the accident, some residents have reported headaches and feeling dizzy.

Regan said that anyone who experienced any kind of adverse reaction should seek medical attention.

“We ask that they contact the local and state health agencies because we want that information, we want to hear from people,” he said.

He was quick to add, however, that he’s confident in the safety of areas tested by EPA and deemed safe.

“We believe that because the science and the data proves that,” he said. “But that is not to discount any experience that any resident is having,” he added.

Asked about reports that “a lot” of residents had developed rashes and that one person said they were coughing up blood and had trouble breathing, Regan repeated his recommendation to seek medical attention.

Railroad ‘Absolutely’ Accountable

At least five lawsuits have been filed against Norfolk Southern, the railroad that operated the derailed train. The company announced this week that it is creating a $1 million fund to help the community while continuing to remove spilled contaminants from the ground and streams and monitoring air quality.

Regan vowed to take the company to task for the incident.

“We are absolutely going to hold Norfolk Southern accountable,” he said.

A tank car sits on a trailer as the cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed over a week ago continues in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 15, 2023. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

A lawyer representing plaintiffs who filed one of the lawsuits alleged that some residents who were exposed to the toxic chemicals may “already be undergoing DNA mutations.”

The lawsuit alleges that the situation was made worse by the controlled burn-off of vinyl chloride, which sent a plume of dark smoke over the town.

“Residents exposed to vinyl chloride may already be undergoing DNA mutations that could linger for years or even decades before manifesting as terrible and deadly cancers,” attorney John Morgan said.

The train operator has yet to file a response to the complaint and in a statement to The Epoch Times said it is unable to comment on pending litigation.

Addressing the Cause of the Derailment

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the accident, with video footage recently emerging that shows the train may have been on fire some 20 miles before derailing in East Palestine.

The NTSB said in its latest update that it has video that seems to show a wheel bearing overheating shortly before the train derailed.

A full investigation could take as long as 24 months, the NTSB said, but a preliminary report is expected within two weeks.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said more should be done to address train safety.

Buttigieg told Yahoo Finance that there are around 1,000 train derailments each year in the United States and that this points to a “need to continue to raise the bar on rail safety.”

The Association of American Railroads said the NTSB should proceed with its investigation into the derailment before the Biden administration rushes to push new regulations.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Thursday called on Buttigieg to resign, while White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden has “absolute confidence” in the transportation secretary.

Jack Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.