Vice President JD Vance visited East Palestine, Ohio, on the second anniversary of the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train disaster, which darkened the sky over the village with hazardous chemicals, poisoned the surrounding environment, and threatened the health of nearby residents.
“President Trump just wanted to deliver a message that this community will not be forgotten, will not be left behind, and we are in it for the long haul in East Palestine,” Vance told locals in the village’s firehouse.
Vance confirmed Thursday that the Trump administration is returning in search of answers and results.
Vance joined the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya Thursday in announcing a five-year, $10 million research initiative to “assess and address” the health fallout from the derailment.
According to HHS, this multi-disciplinary series of studies will seek to understand the health impacts of chemical exposures on short- and long-term health outcomes, “including relevant biological markers of risk”; monitor the community’s health in order to take preventative measures and support their health care decisions; and connect community members with relevant experts and officials in order to properly address their health concerns.
‘We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open.’
When the Norfolk Southern freight train consisting of 141 packed cars, nine empty cars, and three locomotives derailed in East Palestine in early 2023 due to a failed wheel bearing, 38 cars, 11 containing hazardous materials — including vinyl chloride, benzene residue, hydrogen chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, and isobutylene — went off the tracks.
For fear that the fires engulfing the wreckage might trigger a “catastrophic tanker failure,” railroad emergency crews conducted a vent and burn of five tanks of vinyl chloride, producing hydrogen chloride and phosgene gas — the latter of which was used to kill soldiers en masse in World War I.
The resulting columns of smoke that drifted over the village, which forced 2,000 residents to flee their homes, formed what the National Transportation Safety Board called a toxic “mushroom cloud.”
After the controlled burn and amid reports of thousands of dead fish and dying livestock, hazardous materials specialist Silverio Caggiano told WKBN-TV, “We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open.”
The NTSB indicated in a June 2024 report that the decision to execute the controlled burn “was based on incomplete and misleading information provided by Norfolk Southern officials and contractors. The vent and burn was not necessary to prevent a tank car failure.”
Not only was the decision misguided; it was ruinous.
Thousands of local creatures were killed, nearby waters were heavily contaminated, and possibly cancer-causing airborne toxins were sent into the air across multiple states well beyond.
Blaze News previously reported that the Environmental Protection Agency’s preliminary data in 2023 found that “concentrations for nine of the approximately 50 chemicals measured were relatively high in comparison to the levels considered safe for lifetime exposure.”
“Overall, if ambient levels persisted for these chemicals, they could pose health concerns, either individually (e.g., acrolein, a known respiratory irritant) or cumulatively. Thus, subsequent, spatiotemporal analysis was pertinent,” added the report.
East Palestinians reported various health issues in the wake of the derailment, including headaches, gastrointestinal illness, and respiratory and skin irritations.
Owing to the nature of the chemicals and the duration of their exposure, many in East Palestine feared that there could also be long-term health impacts, especially on mothers and children.
The vice president said in a video shared to social media on Thursday that despite significant concerns from those in the area impacted by the derailment, the Biden administration “refused to do anything to actually study the effects of these long-term exposures on the people of East Palestine. Well, now we have a new president and a great new secretary of health and human services.”
‘Once again, this administration is showing the American people what true leadership looks like.’
“The people of East Palestine have a right to clear, science-backed answers about the impact on their health,” said Kennedy.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences indicated that it will distribute the committed $10 million in tranches of $2 million a year over the next five years for one to three awards. Experts have until July 21 to submit research proposals in hopes of securing funding.
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya teased the initiative last month, telling Fox News’ host Bret Baier he was looking forward to addressing “the health questions and the health needs of the American people with excellent, gold-standard research.”
The initiative was celebrated by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), Republican Sens. Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, and Republican Reps. Mike Rulli and Dave Joyce.
“This funding will enable the people of East Palestine to have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that any potential for long-term health effects will be studied by the scientists at the National Institutes of Health,” said DeWine. “I thank President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Secretary Kennedy for their commitment now and into the future.”
“Once again, this administration is showing the American people what true leadership looks like — putting Americans first,” said Rulli.
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