For days, authorities have been telling residents of the world around East Palestine, Ohio, that it’s protected to return home after a 150-car train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed Feb. 3.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the chemical spill resulting from the derailment had killed an estimated 3,500 small fish across 7½ miles of streams as of Wednesday.
And one resident of North Lima, greater than 10 miles from East Palestine, told WKBN-TV of Youngstown that her five hens and rooster died suddenly Tuesday. The day before, rail operator Norfolk Southern had burned train cars carrying vinyl chloride — a flammable gas — to prevent an explosion.
For some individuals who live near the derailment site, the reports proceed to spur fear that they and their animals may be exposed to chemicals through the air, water and soil.
“Don’t tell me it’s protected. Something is occurring if the fish are floating within the creek,” Cathey Reese, who lives in Negley, Ohio, told NBC affiliate WPXI of Pittsburgh last week. Reese said she saw dead fish in a stream that flows through her backyard.
Jenna Giannios, 39, a marriage photographer in nearby Boardman, said she has had a persistent cough for the past week and a half. She has been drinking bottled water, and she or he is uncomfortable bathing in water from the toilet spigot, she said.
“They only evacuated just one mile from that space, and that is just insane to me,” she said, coughing throughout the conversation. “I’m concerned with the long-term heath impact. It’s just a large number.”
After the controlled burn, the Environmental Protection Agency warned area residents of possible lingering odors but noted that the byproducts of vinyl chloride can emit smells at levels lower than what is taken into account hazardous.
Ohio officials said Wednesday that residents could return home after air quality samples “showed readings at points below safety screening levels for contaminants of concern.”
The EPA, which is overseeing the air quality testing, said, “Air monitoring because the fire went out has not detected any levels of concern locally that could be attributed to the incident presently.”
Nonetheless, the EPA said Friday in a letter to Norfolk Southern that chemicals carried on the train “proceed to be released to the air, surface soils, and surface waters.”
The EPA said that as of Saturday evening, it had screened the indoor air in 210 homes and hadn’t detected vinyl chloride. One other 218 homes had yet to be screened as of Sunday, it said.
The EPA classifies vinyl chloride as a carcinogen; routine exposure could increase one’s risk of liver damage or liver cancer. Short-term exposure to high concentrations could cause drowsiness, lack of coordination, disorientation, nausea, headache or burning or tingling, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
East Palestine has scheduled an emergency council meeting for Wednesday to answer constituents’ concerns.
Andrew Whelton, a professor of environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University, said it’s possible the burn created additional compounds the EPA won’t be testing for.
“Once they combusted the materials, they created other chemicals. The query is what did they create?” he said.
Whelton added that among the other chemicals the train carried could also cause headaches, nausea, vomiting or skin irritation.
In Darlington, Pennsylvania, 4 miles from the accident, managers of the Kindred Spirits Rescue Ranch evacuated 77 of their biggest animals, including a yak and a zebu, for 2 days.
“We could see the plume come up and over us,” said the ranch’s founder, Lisa Marie Sopko. “Our eyes were burning, and my face could feel it.”
Sopko said she’s concerned concerning the conditions. The ranch’s water comes from its own two wells, but until experts can test them, Sopko said, her team is using one well with a more sophisticated filtration system.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture said the chance to livestock stays low.
“ODA has not received any official reports regarding the wellness of animals related to the incident,” it said in a press release.
Still, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is urging members to get the water from their local wells tested as soon as possible.
“The largest concern is the water table at this point, to see what sort of exposure there was to those chemicals,” said the bureau’s organizing director, Nick Kennedy.
“There’s some level of frustration on the market” amongst farmers, Kennedy added. “They only want answers. Their livelihoods may be at stake here.”
Laura Fauss, the general public information officer for the Columbiana County Health District, said the department began groundwater sampling last week in partnership with the state Health Department, the state EPA and contractors for Norfolk Southern.
The outcomes have not come back yet, Fauss said, and she or he didn’t know when to expect them.
She added that her department has received no reports of residents’ experiencing abnormal symptoms.
But Giannios said she and other residents have not gotten all their questions answered, so within the meantime, she has began a Facebook page where people can communicate about their concerns.
