EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Feb. 3 marks one year since the toxic train derailment that literally derailed a village in Eastern Ohio.
A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials was involved in a derailment, rocking the Columbiana County community. Just days later, the sky darkened as officials conducted a "controlled release" of chemicals from the derailment site amid concerns of a potential explosion.
East Palestine residents found themselves evacuated from their homes as headlines of "Toxic Ohio Train Derailment" captured national attention for weeks to come. Questions about environmental impacts and potential health problems took center stage as cleanup efforts continued for months.
There are still many questions, many answers, and many unknowns when it comes to the future of the village.
"On Feb. 3, this was just a ball of fire. It went down in a straight line, smoke everywhere. It was an orange-covered sky, covering the trees and the buildings," local chiropractor Dr. Rick Tsai told 3News. "They spilled not only vinyl chloride, but 60,000 gallons of benzene, which is a class 1 carcinogen. There were hundreds of thousands of gallons chemicals spilled into our land and waterways and then subsequently burned into our air."
Since the derailment, consultants hired by Norfolk Southern and the Environmental Protection Agency have been collecting samples, which are then sent to EPA-approved labs. They test for 16 chemicals, and a spokesman with the Ohio EPA tells WKYC sampling results from the past several months have come back as "non-detect" for chemicals related to the spill.
Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel adds crews are working to keep the air and water safe.
"The work to backfill the big holes that we dug to remove the soil, that work is going on," Vogel said during a recent January press conference. "The work to make sure that the contamination is out of the streams, that continues. That work is going on as we speak. We don't see any chemical of concern that is at such levels that there would a human health risk in the creeks. So we're not worried that there's exposure or that its getting into the air or anything like that, and we have more than a million data points on air quality monitoring to ensure that that's the case."
Dr. Tsai claims his independent testing of volatile organic compounds showed double the amount of benzene, among other chemicals he says would cause burning mucus membranes and sore throats.
"You don't want to touch it, you don't want your kids in those creeks, you do not want to ingest it," he stated. "One night after taking a shower after being in the creeks, there was a saucer-size lump in my back, and it took four days to go away after being exposed to those chemicals. Who knows what will happen in the future?"
"I am fed up, the people of East Palestine are fed up, and I believe the people of District 6 and the entire nation are fed up," Tsai said. "I will never shut up about what happened here, but I'll take care of the whole district. The first thing I'd do is what I've been begging for: I've been begging for no or low-interest loans that don't have to be paid back until the people sell their property, and I'm going to push for that, and I'm going to get the people out of here who want to get out."
Previous Reporting:
- 'We will get the votes': US Sen. Sherrod Brown addresses push for Rail Safety Act nearly 1 year after Ohio train derailment in East Palestine
- Norfolk Southern is 1st big freight railway to let workers use anonymous federal safety hotline
- Youngstown State University officially hires Ohio US Rep. Bill Johnson as next president
- Norfolk Southern to end relocation aid right after one-year anniversary of its fiery Ohio train derailment