Angry Ohio residents confront rail operator over health fears

Omaha, Nebraska/Toledo, Ohio — Residents who say they are still suffering from illnesses a month after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in the US state of Ohio, confronted the railroad's operator on Thursday at a town forum, demanding to know whether they would be relocated from homes they are afraid to live in.

"It's not safe here," said one man, staring straight at representatives of the Norfolk Southern area. "I'm begging you, by the grace of God, please get our people out of here."

While the railroad authorities announced they were ready to begin moving more contaminated soil from underneath the tracks, buying homes and moving people out of the affected area has not been discussed, said Darrell Wilson, the railroad's assistant vice-president of government relations.

"Why?" someone shouted.

Few seemed to come away satisfied with the answers they heard about air and water testing from state and federal officials. On Thursday, the US Environmental Protection Agency ordered rail operator Norfolk Southern to begin testing for dioxins. Testing so far by the EPA for "indicator chemicals" has suggested there is a low chance that dioxins were released from the derailment, the agency said. Dioxins are toxic chemical compounds that can stay in the environment for long periods of time.

Residents near the burn could have been exposed to dioxins in the air that landed on their skin or were breathed into their lungs, said Frederick Guengerich, a toxicologist at Vanderbilt University.

Skin exposure to high concentrations can cause what is known as chloracne — an intense skin inflammation, Guengerich said.

Many people remain scared about whether the area will be safe for their children years from now, saying they fear that dioxins not yet detected will cause long-term damage.

Residents booed and yelled, "Don't lie to us," when Debra Shore, a regional administrator with the EPA, reiterated that tests have continually shown that the village's air is safe.

Investigators looking into the fire that erupted after the derailment said it melted a key part of the tank cars filled with toxic chemicals, leading federal officials to warn railcar owners earlier on Thursday to check their fleets for similar flaws.

'Classic cover-up'

Activist Erin Brockovich launched a blistering critique on Thursday of the handling of the toxic train derailment in Ohio, branding it a "classic cover-up" of an environmental disaster.

"They are so afraid. They get so many mixed messages," Brockovich said of local residents during a visit to East Palestine, her second in less than a week. "It's a classic cover-up in an environmental disaster," she told reporters. "Something is not right here."

The incident, which occurred on the night of Feb 3, involved 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited, fueling fires that damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars.

First responders implemented a one-mile evacuation zone surrounding the derailment site that affected up to 2,000 residents. There were no reported fatalities or injuries, according to a report issued by the National Transportation Security Board last week.

Responders mitigated the fire on Feb 5, the NTSB report stated. But five derailed "specification tank cars carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride" continued to concern authorities because the temperature inside one tank car was still rising.

Many people have complained that Norfolk Southern opened the tracks less than a week after the derailment and did not remove the soil underneath. The railroad now plans to dig up the areas and should be able to remove all the contaminated soil by the end of April if it is able to start right away, Wilson said.

That only brought more jeers and angry shouts.

"You should have done it right the first time," someone yelled.

The Joe Biden administration has been criticized, particularly by Republican opposition, for its handling of the derailment.

Thousands of Republicans gathered on Thursday at a plush riverfront hotel in Washington for the Conservative Political Action Conference auditorium.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz accused the Biden administration of not giving "a damn" about the Ohio train derailment that sparked fears of environmental contamination.

Xinhua - Agencies