Angry residents want answers over train derailment and chemical explosion

Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate. Residents were allowed to return to their homes on February 8 after railroad crews drained and burned five of his tanker cars with toxic chemicals.

Experts say much remains unknown about the danger posed to residents by the toxin spill. Many people in the area are complaining of headaches and itchy eyes, pointing to dead chickens, fish and other wildlife. Despite this, state health officials insist to residents that Eastern Palestine is a safe place.

The NTSB has not commented on the cause of the derailment. A federal investigation into the cause of the crash continues, as does environmental monitoring in and around Ohio.

Railroad union officials said they had warned that such accidents could occur because the railroad’s cost cuts had a negative impact on safety measures. It tends to be safer,” he said.

Conaway said the company is working closely with him. “They’ve ruined our town. They’re trying to fix it,” Conway said.

He addressed citizens sitting in the bleachers and spoke through a loudspeaker as he walked around the gym floor.

“They used to dance around the questions,” said Daniel Deal, who lives a few kilometers from the derailment site.

Norfolk Southern officials did not attend the meeting, saying they feared violence.

Deal called the reason “copout” and pointed to the seriousness of the incident. Deal and her two children left home to live with her mother 20 kilometers away.

“After consulting with community leaders, we have learned of the increased physical threats to employees and community members around this event due to the increased likelihood of participation by outside parties. became increasingly concerned.”

Eric Olson, senior strategy director for health and food at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit focused on the environment and public health, said the unknown hazards stemming from the derailment are not what authorities have given him about safety. He said it far outweighed his sense of security.

“This is obviously a very toxic brew of chemicals,” Olson said. .”

The air and water tests performed so far appear to be limited and “not very reassuring,” Olson said.

He said more needs to be understood about how soil and groundwater were contaminated by the spill, which poses a more significant long-term hazard as opposed to air pollution.

Ohio officials say plumes of pollutant in the Ohio River are moving at about 1.6 kilometers per hour. However, they say cities in the path of the volcanic plume can shut off drinking water intakes as the volcanic plume passes by. It says the treatment removes small amounts of contaminants that may be present.

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Gerald Poje, a toxicologist and former founding member of the Chemical Safety Commission, an independent federal agency that investigates chemical accidents, said it could take months or years to fully understand the extent of the damage. He said it could take.

“This is a terrible tragedy in Ohio. It’s heartbreaking to see so many lives at risk,” Poje said. “The long-standing challenge for everyone is how to discern currently unknown risks.”

Poje and Olson said that underground plumes of contamination can eventually contaminate drinking water and even irrigation wells that farmers pump and can spread to their crops.

AP, Bloomberg