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A little more than 5,000 inhabitants reside in East Palestine, a small town in Ohio, which was the heart of the dumping of a series of chemical materials after a train derailed on February 3. There, the inhabitants denounce that the US authorities have not given the pertinent indications about the care and consequences that they should have after the fact. A team from France 24 visited the place and heard the testimonies of its inhabitants first-hand.
Upon entering the town of East Palestine, the first thing the France 24 team finds is a giant sign that reads ‘Home Air Testing 330-849-3919’. Even so, when we run into Karl Martin, a resident of this small town of about 4,700 inhabitants, he confesses that he has just stolen an air pollution meter from the ones in the town to take home with him.
“They are the ones that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has placed on various streets to detect levels of toxicity.” Karl isn’t proud of what he just did, but frustration and fear got the better of him. “It’s been two weeks since the accident and no one has come to my house yet to see how healthy the air I breathe is, so I’ll measure it myself.”
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However, many neighbors have reported headaches, vomiting and dizziness. There is fear and mistrust because the information comes with a dropper. A neighbor confesses to us that he has stolen this air pollution meter because in 15 days no one has stopped by his house to measure it. pic.twitter.com/C4bLITg5Nz
– Mamen Sala (@MamenSala) February 18, 2023
The same distrust that Karl gives off is perceived in most of the neighbors. Everyone tries to return to normality after the derailment of the train owned by the company ‘Norfolk Southern’ on February 3, but they do so fearful of the consequences that what happened at their doorsteps may have on their health in the future. .
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Ohio train derailment
? February 3: around 9pm, 50 carriages of the 150 that the train has near the town of East Palestine (population 4,700) derail 11 carriages contain hazardous material, such as Vinyl Chloride, a carcinogenic chemical pic.twitter.com/0sHPMhCObx– Mamen Sala (@MamenSala) February 18, 2023
“Nobody has told me how to do laundry, or if it’s safe to dust my house”
So far, more than 500 homes have been inspected to analyze toxicity levels and so far the EPA continues to ensure that “the area is safe” and that “air quality samples in the area of debris and in residential neighborhoods nearby have not shown levels of toxicity above normal.
However, there are several neighbors who have reported headaches, vomiting, nausea, itching and stinging in the throat and eyes. Some local media outlets claim to have spoken to people who have reported the death of their animals, but our team has not found any of these cases.
Jennifer Cart, one of the neighbors, acknowledges that “her animals are fine.” She and her father live on a farm very close to where the train derailment occurred. “We were evacuated in a hotel for several days and then they told us that we could return home because it was safe.” In principle water, land and air were safe, but that has changed.
They distribute free bottled water after the death of thousands of fish in the river
Authorities now recommend drinking bottled water and are trying to clean up the river that runs through East Palestine after more than 3,500 dead fish turned up in recent days. The wells that supply the town and also the private ones are being examined, and huge machines that shoot water have been placed in an attempt to clean the rivers. In addition, small dams have been placed to prevent the chemically contaminated water from continuing to flow down the river.
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However, the Ohio EPA begins to purify water with huge machines and places this “species of white churros” as a dam so that the contaminated water does not continue to run down the river or enter the sewers. pic.twitter.com/LPrlG53QkW
– Mamen Sala (@MamenSala) February 18, 2023
Many inhabitants wonder if while these tasks are carried out “they should continue washing clothes with tap water”.
“Is it healthy for our pets to drink this water? Should I also wash my hands with bottled water?” a woman asks out loud before several of the journalists who are covering the events at ground zero.
No one gives them answers to the questions about daily routines and meanwhile the mistrust continues to grow. Above all, after the change in the guidelines that occurred on February 8, when the evacuated residents were able to return to their homes.
“Then they told us that we could lead a normal life, and now that we drink bottled water,” says a neighbor who refuses to be formally interviewed, but complains loudly in front of us.
In fact, on the main street of the town, volunteers can be seen handing out packages of bottles of water for free.
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In addition, the authorities now recommend drinking bottled water while analyzing the wells that supply the affected areas. These neighbors distribute a package of 20 bottles per person. pic.twitter.com/Gy3STREDBU
– Mamen Sala (@MamenSala) February 18, 2023
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Anger at the lack of transparency and presence of authorities
Another of the reasons that makes residents uneasy is that the information has been provided by drops, and also many would have liked to have had more federal support.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hasn’t been there yet. And the White House was trying to calm nerves on Friday by announcing the dispatch of medical experts to ground zero to assess the damage from the disaster, 17 days after it struck.
In addition, it was not until this Saturday that the CEO of the ‘Norfolk Southern’ railway company, Alan Shaw, visited East Palestine (he previously said that they did not send anyone out of fear of the physical threats they had received). He assured reporters that he was there “to support the community” but declined to comment further.
