EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Members from Ohio's Democratic Party gathered Wednesday afternoon to discuss their concerns following the recent train derailment in East Palestine.
Among those attending the discussion were:
- Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood)
- Assistant Senate Minority Whip Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
- State Rep. Lauren McNally (D-Youngstown)
- Interested parties from environmental and agricultural groups on the state, federal and nonprofit levels
During the discussion, state officials expressed their concerns nearly a week after residents were permitted to return to their homes following the fiery train derailment. While EPA tests have indicated the air is safe, people in the village remain worried about harmful chemicals following the controlled release of vinyl chloride from five derailed train cars.
"Right off the bat, we've come up with a number of things that we can do that are concrete, solution-based, and proactive going forward, and making the best of a worst situation is trying to improve things," Antonio said. "If we can prevent, great, but if we can't prevent something like this from happening again, can we improve the response to make things safer for the people of Ohio."
The discussion comes just a day after Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and other state officials provided an update on the situation. During the briefing, the governor expressed his frustration that the train was never designated as having "high-hazardous material," leading to the railroad not being required to notify Ohio officials of the materials on board as it traveled in the state.
"I would think that the members of Congress [should], and I would ask them to, take a look at this," DeWine told reporters. "This is absurd."
DeWine signed off on the order to allow residents from the one-mile evacuation zone to come home, and air and water quality tests from the Ohio EPA indicate conditions are not hazardous. However, Democrats believe there has not yet been enough testing to determine the area is safe, and now the focus turns to fix not only this disaster, but others that may come in the future.
"This is a human rights [issue]," Hicks-Hudson said. "Ohio citizens [have a] right to be feeling safe and secure in their homes."