NewsNation: 2023 in review: Investigating the East Palestine train derailment

(NewsNation) — In February, a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.

Some 1,500 residents were told to evacuate. Fearing an explosion, officials decided to vent and burn five tank cars, releasing 116,000 gallons of the carcinogen vinyl chloride into the air.

Minutes later, a toxic plume of smoke smothered the region.

“We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open,” Sig Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist, said at the time.

However, three days later, the Environmental Protection Agency said it had not detected contaminants at “levels of concern” and gave the all-clear for residents to return.

Residents complained of rashes and sickness.

One, Katlyn Schwarzwaelder, said she broke out in a rash almost instantly when she went back home after being evacuated.

“I undressed to get into the shower, and I had a rash all over the side of my face, on both sides and all over my chest,” Schwarzwaelder said.

Another, John Kent, said his neurologist told him the derailment was a very impactful event in his life.

“It perpetuated my grand mal seizures in the sense that I would have likely never had a single seizure event had been not been for these happenings,” Kent said.

Now, tensions are high between residents and government officials. The ugly divide between the authorities and those asking tough questions was exposed when NewsNation correspondent Evan Lambert was arrested during a news conference held by Ohio’s governor. Charges filed against Lambert were later dismissed.

Politicians swooped into town, including former President Donald Trump. Current President Joe Biden was not one of them, even though he previously said he would do so “at some point.”

The discovery of chemicals in the creeks of East Palestine, including Leslie Run, undercut the administration’s PR and messaging. NewsNation investigative correspondent Rich McHugh and resident Rick Tsai, now running for Congress, went to Leslie Run, where a rainbow-colored sheen appeared when the ground was stirred up.

In March, an independent testing expert confirmed residents’ fears that carcinogens were in the water that the Ohio EP was not finding. More tests revealed dioxins — the most toxic compounds on the planet — in the soil, water and people’s air filters.

“Dioxins don’t go away,” independent testing expert Scott Smith said. “You get exposed over time. And dioxins, I say, are the fentanyl of chemicals.”

By May, frustration had grown.

“We just want people to see how many of us are affected,” East Palestine resident Jamie Wallace said. “We are people. We’re not just East Palestine. We’re not just Pennsylvania. These are our lives. These are our children’s lives.”

A community group called Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment hosted a town hall meeting to hear people’s concerns.

“That whole town is a chemical cocktail, and we’re all lab rats,” resident Linda Murphy said.

Locals grew angry with the EPA, which they say is ignoring the facts and, most importantly, ignoring them.

“The EPA has not tested my house, my soil, nothing,” resident Shelby Walker said.

NewsNation pressed the EPA. Mark Durno, an EPA response coordinator, said in an interview with McHugh that “he didn’t know” why people are getting sick, though he did say there’s a “potential” they were exposed to vinyl chloride.

In July, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine requested that Biden issue a disaster declaration, but the president has yet to do so.

“We have gotten a big old middle finger — I am just gonna say it,” resident Jessica Conard said. “I feel like our community does not matter to the president I actually voted for.”

Today, nearly a year later, those in East Palestine say their problems are getting worse, not better. At a town hall NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo hosted, he asked a room of residents, “Who believes that you have been forgotten?”

Every hand went up.

As the new year starts, NewsNation will continue to search for answers.