![]() On top of those uncertainties, people in East Palestine can be hard to contact. Shi wore her navy blue and gold US Public Health Service uniform, as she usually does while working on a response. They were told that residents were likely to be distrustful of government officials, so were advised not to wear anything that had the CDC logo on it. One month later, people living near a toxic train derailment wonder if their lives will ever be back on track ![]() Donald Trump won Columbiana County by 45 points over Joe Biden in the 2020 election.Įmpty railroad tracks stand at the CSX Oak Point Yard, a freight railroad yard on Octoin the Bronx borough of New York City. This corner of Northeast Ohio is nearly all White and leans heavily Republican. Dallas Shi and her partner, Ian Dunn, had dressed carefully for their work, and not just because of the nippy morning air.ĭunn says that before setting out into the field, they’d been briefed about the political leanings of residents here. The investigators’ task is to gather the precious data that may help crack the case – soon, or far off in the future.Ī few days before some fell ill, the ATSDR team had assembled in the gravel parking lot at the Negley Volunteer Fire Department, the town south of East Palestine. The morning was chilly and breezy.ĭr. This was a chemical soup that was hard to test for and hard even to identify as a problem until after a symptom or health problem merges. ![]() It’s the first chance residents will have to ask them questions. On Tuesday evening, they are expected to present the findings of their investigation to residents at a meeting at a local church, alongside county and state public health officials. Perhaps more than any other agency responding to the disaster, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry or ATSDR, a little-known division of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is poised to address questions that residents most want answered: Was I exposed to chemicals? And if so, what did they do to me?īut connecting the illnesses that people say they’ve had – headaches, rashes, sore throats, cough and burning, irritated eyes – to potential chemical exposures isn’t an easy or straightforward task. The episode, which was first reported by CNN, drove home the contradiction that some East Palestine residents say they’ve lived for months: Official statements about contamination of the air and drinking water in East Palestine say there’s no safety concern, but symptoms return for some residents when they come home for brief visits, especially among those whose homes are close to the crash site. Government to step up efforts to monitor health of East Palestine residents, first responders The teams withdrew for the day and returned to their hotel, more than 30 miles away.Īccording to an incident report obtained by CNN through a Freedom of Information Act request, seven people had developed suspicious symptoms. All had sore or “scratchy” throats, three had headaches, one experienced burning in their nose, one felt nauseated, and another was coughing and had chest pain.Īlthough everyone was feeling better that evening, they decided to work from the hotel the next day to play it safe. The teams finished their work in the field a few days later and were sent home. ![]() About two hours later, two members of the survey team complained of throat irritation. Their supervisor offered to take them out of the field, but they wanted to keep working.īy 3 p.m., more reports of symptoms were coming in. and worked without any protective equipment. The Taggart survey had been planned before the town hall, according to a CDC spokesperson. The next Monday, the ATSDR team, made up of doctors and epidemiologists serving in the Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service, fanned out along Taggart, going door-to-door to survey residents about their health. Do I have to wait until I have cancer or my kids are sick or my grandkids are sick before you guys are gonna do anything?” “Not one of you have had the guts to come up there to see if we are OK with a flyer that they’ve given everybody on the other side of town,” she shouted. “Nobody has come to us. Puskar/APįirst on CNN: CDC team studying health impacts of Ohio train derailment fell ill during investigation 17, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming a video of a purple cloud looming over a street as a car drives underneath shows East Palestine, Ohio, after a recent freight train derailment and intentional burning of some of the hazardous chemicals on board.(AP Photo/Gene J. FILE - A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb.
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