Ohio’s East Palestine train derailment update

Eight months after the horrific train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, many of the ecological problems created due to the “controlled burning” of various hazardous chemicals still linger over the small town and have spread to boarding communities. Though the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has gone on record saying that this issue is being resolved due to a prolonged cleanup of the area, many people are left wondering how long they will have to wait to return to a sense of normalcy within their once peaceful town. 

For those who do not know, as mentioned in a past Lamron article, on Feb. 6, 2023, EPA and East Palestine city officials saw carts of a Norfolk Southern train—derailed three days prior—were beginning to spike in temperature, resulting in concerns that an explosion may be inevitable. With this in mind, they began a “controlled burning” of chemicals, going cart by cart and releasing them into the atmosphere as toxic gas. These chemicals were “choking agents that were outlawed after World War I…benzene, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, vinyl chloride, and isobutylene. The effects of burning these chemicals on humans include dizziness, headaches, neurological issues, nausea, irritation in the throat and lungs, organ damage, and various cancers.”  Though the air was clean after two days, the nearby communities and wildlife—including animals, plants, soil, and bodies of water—began experiencing the unadulterated side effects. 

With that said, as the months have progressed, various EPA initiatives have begun in the area where the train initially derailed—the area directly under the tracks and its surroundings—removing soil that has high concentrations of any of these chemicals within it. So far, due to the demands of the people within the town and “$96.5 million” of Norfolk Southern’s profits, there has been a mass soil cleanup, with a reported 170,000 tons of contaminated soil removed as of Oct. 26, 2023. Resulting of this, Norfolk Southern’s Environmental Operations manager, Bob Scoble, has gone on record saying, “We’re going to be sampling till March or April, and once we get those samples, we have to look at the results and see what’s there,” which raises concerns for civilians living in this community even more. 

Though the promises of Norfolk seem legitimate, many are left feeling utterly betrayed by their government to let an issue, like the infrastructure of highly used train tracks, go unnoticed, but even more so by this company, who ignored clear warning signs for months leading up to the derailment, alongside negligence from the EPA, which when combined caused their current ruin. Yet, after eight grueling months, these people just want to have some semblance of everyday life back. Many townspeople feel like they’re living in a dystopia, needing to stay indoors, keep their pets off grass, and stay far away from anything that could be contaminated. Nevertheless, as time passes, this becomes increasingly impossible because of the travel of contaminated water. 

One former resident of East Palestine turned ecologist commented on the matter, showing evidence of water contamination via her TikTok page, @taycallidryas77. These findings show evidence contrary to the beliefs of many EPA officials on the matter: the waterways within East Palestine have not fully recovered, nor has the surrounding area, which is still ripe with chemical remnants. She has posted several videos over the last eight months, upon each visit to the area, and has shown that even if the water looks clean, things like the nearby rocks are still coated in chemicals. There have been several instances of individuals like this one’s citizen science findings proving the statements of Norfolk Southern and the EPA wrong. 

When it comes to East Palestine, Ohio, there will be no easy fix. The representatives in power and Norfolk Southern must work together to right their wrongs. As Norfolk and the EPA move into their next phase of clean-up, Scobles said, “We’re gonna sample the site itself again, looking for any trace amounts of contamination that may have been left behind that we missed,” which has made many feel somewhat hopeful about what is to come. 

However, there is no way to know what the result of this next phase will be, nor if it has any notable changes within the community. Until we do know, stay in the loop and stay informed because this situation will keep developing for the next several months to come.