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The aftermath of last year\u2019s fiery\u00a0train derailment<\/a>\u00a0in eastern Ohio doesn\u2019t qualify as a public health emergency because widespread health problems and ongoing chemical exposures haven\u2019t been documented, federal officials said.<\/p>\n The Environmental Protection Agency never approved that designation after the February 2023 Norfolk Southern<\/a> derailment even though the disaster forced the evacuation of half the\u00a0town of East Palestine<\/a>\u00a0and generated many fears about\u00a0potential long-term health consequences<\/a>\u00a0of the chemicals that spilled and burned<\/a>. The contamination concerns were exacerbated by the decision to\u00a0blow open five tank cars<\/a>\u00a0filled with vinyl chloride and burn that toxic chemical three days after the derailment.<\/p>\n The topic of a public health emergency came up in emails obtained by the Government Accountability Project watchdog group through a public records request. But EPA Response Coordinator Mark Durno said the label, which the agency has only used\u00a0once before<\/a>\u00a0in Libby, Montana \u2014 where hundreds of people died and thousands were sickened from widespread asbestos exposure \u2014 doesn\u2019t fit East Palestine even though some residents still complain about respiratory problems and unexplained rashes. Officials also believed the agency had enough authority to respond to the derailment without declaring an emergency.<\/p>\n Durno said the reason a public health emergency isn\u2019t being considered is that \u201cwe have not had any environmental data\u201d about ongoing chemical exposures in the extensive air, water and soil testing program.<\/p>\n The EPA said in a statement that the order it did issue telling Norfolk Southern it was responsible for the damage declared that \u201cthe conditions at the derailment site \u2018may constitute an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or the environment.\u2019\u201d So the agency said it didn\u2019t see a need for a public health emergency because it had the legal authority it needed to respond.<\/p>\n But area residents like Jami Wallace see plenty of evidence that their hometown has become a disaster every time they open Facebook<\/a> and see posts about their friends\u2019 kids covered with rashes or struggling with chronic nosebleeds. Other posts talk about the smell of chemicals returning after heavy rains.<\/p>\n \u201cThey keep saying it\u2019s a coincidence, but if this was your family, wouldn\u2019t you get tired of it being a coincidence?\u201d Wallace said.<\/p>\n Lesley Pacey, who is an environmental investigator with the watchdog group, said she wants to make sure that East Palestine residents get the help that they need to recover from the derailment.<\/p>\n \u201cI talk to residents all the time and they\u2019re having new seizures pop up, cancers. I mean, a lot of the damage has already been done to these people,\u201d Pacey said.<\/p>\n Federal and state officials continue monitoring for additional problems in the small community near the Pennsylvania border, according to Durno. The EPA also keeps testing the air and water in the area as it oversees the railroad\u2019s work to clean up the mess.<\/p>\n He reiterated that none of the agency\u2019s more than 100 million tests of air, water and soil ever showed concerning levels of chemicals apart from the soil immediately around the derailment that was\u00a0dug up<\/a>\u00a0and disposed of last year.<\/p>\n In the recently disclosed emails, an EPA lawyer tells one of its PR people it was \u201cbest not to get into this\u201d when he was asked whether a document explaining the agency\u2019s order telling Norfolk Southern to clean up the contamination from the derailment should include anything about medical benefits. That kind of aid, which could include Medicare coverage, is only available if EPA declares a public health emergency.<\/p>\n \u201cBut again there was no data suggesting that that was necessary. And to this date, there is no data that suggests that that\u2019s necessary,\u201d Durno said<\/p>\n The railroad has already spent\u00a0more than $1.1 billion<\/a>\u00a0on its response to the derailment, including more than $104 million in direct aid to East Palestine and its residents. Partly because Norfolk Southern is paying for the cleanup, President Joe Biden has never declared a disaster in East Palestine, which is a sore point for many residents. The railroad has promised to create a fund to help pay for the long-term health needs of the community, but that hasn\u2019t happened yet.<\/p>\n The emails also provide a reminder that the EPA was aware of the potential dangers of releasing and burning the vinyl chloride. But that was already made clear when the EPA advised officials on scene that phosgene \u2014 which was used as a chemical weapon in World War I \u2014 and hydrogen chloride would likely be created when vinyl chloride is burned and\u00a0warned the public<\/a>\u00a0about that possibility.<\/p>\n The officials who made the decision to release the vinyl chloride \u2014 Ohio\u2019s governor and the local fire chief leading the response \u2014 decided that releasing and burning it was safer than risking a tank car or more exploding.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Durno said the EPA found only low levels of hydrogen chloride in the plume of thick black smoke and no phosgene. And he said the agency took extensive samples throughout the area to monitor for those chemicals during the burn and evacuation even though weather conditions kept its specialized plane with additional testing equipment grounded on the day of the burn.<\/p>\n The head of the National Transportation Safety Board\u00a0said recently<\/a>\u00a0that her agency\u2019s investigation showed that the vent and burn of the vinyl chloride was unnecessary because the company that produced that chemical was sure no dangerous chemical reaction was happening inside the tank cars. But the officials who made the decision have said they were never told that.<\/p>\n The NTSB\u2019s full investigation into the cause of the derailment\u00a0won\u2019t be complete until June<\/a>, though that agency\u00a0has said<\/a>\u00a0that an overheating wheel bearing on one of the railcars that wasn\u2019t detected in time by a trackside sensor likely caused the crash.<\/p>\n The EPA has said the cleanup in East Palestine is expected to be complete sometime later this year.<\/p>\n Rick Tsai, a chiropractor who ran in the March primary for the U.S. congressional seat on the derailment, sees a dismal future for the small township the longer that it goes without the resources it needs to make it safe again \u2014 resources the public health emergency designation could help provide.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are just about to give up,\u201d he lamented. \u201cI don\u2019t think people have much hope anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to Impact Report, a weekly newsletter on the trends and issues shaping corporate sustainability. 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