EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Brenda Foster didn’t hear it. She saw it.
“That’s all you saw, the whole sky was glowing,” she said.
Her house in East Palestine is considered “ground zero” in relation to the Norfolk Southern train that derailed earlier this month. She was evacuated. When she came back home she says she believes the water is safe.
“The air is a different story,” she said. ”Because every day it’s different.”
Following the incident she says she had a cough and itchy eyes, all the while she thinks communication has been lacking.
“I don’t think we have enough information,” she said. “I think we need some more information.”
Courtney Miller also lives near the crash.
With a flick of a stick in the creek behind her house she brings to the surface both chemicals and a good point.
“According to DeWine and the EPA there’s nothing wrong with the water or the air quality,” Miller said.
Chemicals can be seen circulating in the creek when she irritates the water.
“Since the derailment, I haven’t let my kids set foot in East Palestine,” Miller said.
Despite repeated assurances from officials that air and water testing posed no threats and no signs of contaminants, people have complained of headaches and irritated eyes.
“Do you believe the governor, the EPA, the U.S. EPA have your best interest at heart right now,” 10TV’s Bryant Somerville asked Miller.
“Of course not,” she said. “Of course not. Absolutely not.”
“Do you think enough is being done for your safety,” Somerville asked Foster.
“I think they need to test the soil,” she said. “I think just the air is not quite enough. They need to come in and test peoples’ belongings.”
EPA says it continues to test soil samples near the crash site.