We just need answers : distrust grows in Ohio town after toxic train derailment | Ohio | The Guardian
During his Thursday visit to the site of a fiery train derailment that may have poisoned a small eastern Ohio town with a range of highly toxic chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency chief, Michael Regan, told residents: All families need to know that they are safe.
But Regan s words, along with those from the Ohio governor Mike DeWine s administration and Norfolk Southern officials, have been of little comfort to Jami Cozza.
After evacuating for days after the 3 February derailment, she was told it was safe to return home, but a chemical odor still lingers in her flat. She urged a Norfolk Southern official to visit, and the company is now offering to pay for her relocation over safety fears.
Cozza noted East Palestine residents were told the municipal water was safe to drink, but also advised to buy bottled water, and many have complained of rashes after they shower. Residents were told they only had vinyl chloride to fear, then the list of dangerous chemicals spilled by the train grew. Federal agencies may not release the full list of chemicals for months.
Each day seems to bring new contradictions and every bit of information from officials feels like it raises more questions than it answers, Cozza said. The uncertainty is generating a deep sense of distrust.