'Be your own critical thinker': Erin Brockovich urges East Palentine residents to document health effects as EPA pauses cleanup
EAST PALESTINE, OHIO: Following the East Palestine train derailment, environmental activist Erin Brockovich urged residents to document the health effects they are facing due to the toxic gases that leaked. Some residents said they have been diagnosed with bronchitis and other conditions. Doctors and nurses reportedly suspect that it could be the result of being exposed to hazardous gases.
"You need to be vigilant you need to journal, you need to document information," Brockovich said in a town hall meeting on Friday, February 24, according to Fox News. "I will be talking tonight because we want you to get information that you can take home, so you're better informed, so you have a better understanding," she added.
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Following the incident, Brockovich had urged East Palentine residents, who live near the site where a deadly train derailment took place, to prioritize their own safety. She has urged the residents to be skeptical of EPA assurances that the site is no longer unsafe.
'Communities want to be seen and heard'
At the town hall meeting, she told the 2,700 residents gathered inside the East Palestine High School gymnasium, "You want to be heard, but you’re going to be told it’s safe; you’re going to be told not to worry. That’s just rubbish because you’re going to worry. Communities want to be seen and heard."
"These chemicals take time to move in the water. You’re going to need groundwater monitoring. People on well water: You really need to be on alert. They’re going to need to implement soil vapor intrusion modeling. Believe us. It’s coming," she said, adding, "You start getting 50 and 100,000 p******off moms together — I’m telling you right now: Things change."
"You have the ability to become — and you will become — your own critical thinker." Brockovich continued. "You will get information; you will ask questions, you demand answers. You will listen to that gut and that instinct that will keep you connected as a community," she said. "Don’t let what’s happened here divide you," she added.
EPA orders temporary halt in cleanup process
Federal environmental authorities have reportedly ordered a temporary halt in the shipment of contaminated waste from the deadly East Palestine train derailment site. On Saturday, February 25, 2023, Region 5 administrator, Debra Shore of the Environmental Protection Agency, ordered Norfolk Southern to "pause" shipments from the derailment site. Shore assured that the process of moving the material would resume "very soon".
"Everyone wants this contamination gone from the community. They don't want the worry, and they don't want the smell, and we owe it to the people of East Palestine to move it out of the community as quickly as possible," Debra Shore said, according to the Daily Mail. Shore had said that until Friday, February 25, the company is responsible for the disposal of the waste. It also supplied Ohio environmental officials with disposal sites.
'EPA will ensure that all waste is disposed of in a safe manner'
Shore said EPA will be responsible for reviewing and approving disposal plans going forward. This would include plans like locations and transportation routes for contaminated waste. "EPA will ensure that all waste is disposed of in a safe and lawful manner at EPA-certified facilities to prevent further release of hazardous substances and impacts to communities," Shore said.
She added that officials were told of residents' concerns in several states and were reviewing "the transport of some of this waste over long distances and finding the appropriate permitted and certified sites to take the waste." According to the Ohio governor's office, 20 truckloads (approximately 280 tons) of hazardous solid waste were taken away. Of which, 15 truckloads of contaminated soil were disposed of at a Michigan hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility. Meanwhile, five truckloads were returned to East Palentine, where the tragedy occurred.
Liquid waste that has already been removed from East Palentine is set to be disposed of at a licensed hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility in Texas. "Currently, about 102,000 gallons of liquid waste and 4,500 cubic yards of solid waste remain in storage on site in East Palestine, not including the five truckloads returned to the village," the Ohio governor's office said. "Additional solid and liquid wastes are being generated as the cleanup progresses," they added.
The Ohio train derailment
East Palestine residents are in fear for their health after a train carrying toxic chemicals crashed in the area. As many as 50 Norfolk Southern Railroad freight train cars derailed in Columbiana County on February 3, at around 9 pm. A major fire started near the track. The railroad company resorted to a controlled release of cancer-causing chemicals on February 6 in order to prevent a possible explosion.
Prior to the gases being released, hundreds of East Palestine residents were evacuated and moved from their homes. However, they have now been told it is safe to return. The toxic gases released after the train derailment include vinyl chloride, isobutylene, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol mono butyl ether.