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EPA's response to Ohio train derailment faces watchdog investigation

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 23:02 · Archive

The EPA's response to the 2023 East Palestine train derailment will be investigated by the agency's Inspector General.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Inspector General announced an investigation on Tuesday into the agency's response to the 2023 East Palestine train derailment. The disaster occurred in February 2023 when a Norfolk Southern train carrying chemicals derailed, prompting officials to blow open five rail cars three days later and burn the vinyl chloride inside, creating a massive black plume of smoke that drifted across several states.

Local residents and Vice President JD Vance pressed for the review. The investigation will assess the EPA's response to the emergency and the health and environmental concerns that have developed since, despite the EPA's assurances to the public that no toxic levels of chemicals lingered in the community. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the decision to vent and burn the chemicals was unnecessary, though officials at the time worried the tank cars might explode.

Residents have reported significant health concerns in the aftermath. Jami Wallace, an East Palestine resident, has tracked more than 80 people in the area who have developed cancer since the derailment, though she acknowledged it is difficult to prove that every illness is directly linked to the accident.

EPA's response to Ohio train derailment faces watchdog investigation
Image: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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In this story: EPA · East Palestine · Ohio · JD Vance · Norfolk Southern · National Transportation Safety Board · Jami Wallace

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