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COLUMBUS, Ohio – In the days following the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a group of investigators fell ill while looking into the chemical exposure of residents.
Fifteen investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) were wrapping up their probe of chemical exposure Monday in the East Palestine area. But, just a few weeks ago, seven of those investigators themselves may have experienced exactly what they were looking into, the agency confirmed to The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network.
On March 6, seven investigators reported feeling sick and said they experienced a sore throat, headache, coughing and nausea, according to the CDC. The symptoms are consistent with what some residents and responders have reported in surveys the CDC has been conducting in and around the town that sits on the edge of the Ohio and Pennsylvania border.
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Symptoms the first day
Symptoms resolved for most of the investigators the same afternoon they first noticed them and everyone resumed work on survey data collection within a day, according to the CDC. The investigators who fell ill have not reported ongoing health effects.
News of the illnesses, which showed up a little more than a month after the derailment, was first reported by CNN.
The CDC’s assessment of chemical exposure was set to end Monday in East Palestine, according to the agency.
As of Thursday, 704 community residents completed surveys on potential chemical exposure. Of those, 532 surveys were conducted in Ohio and 172 surveys were completed in Pennsylvania. First responders completed 318 surveys, according to the CDC.
“Over the next couple of months, CDC and ATSDR will work with the health departments to analyze data and share results,” a CDC spokesperson said via email. “EPA teams remain on the ground to support response efforts. CDC and ATSDR will continue to respond to requests for remote technical assistance for as long as needed.”
The derailment, which has received national attention, occurred Feb. 3 when an eastbound Norfolk Southern freight train came off the tracks in East Palestine.
At least five different chemicals were carried in train cars that derailed, according to a letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Norfolk Southern. The chemicals included vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and isobutylene.
Vinyl chloride, which is a chemical used to make PVC pipe, is considered a carcinogen. Exposure to vinyl chloride is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer as well as brain and lung cancers.
Burning it, which was part of the controlled release, creates the toxic gas phosgene and hydrogen chloride. The gas was used as a weapon during World War I.
Rashes, headaches and nausea
Despite evacuations, residents of East Palestine told The Dispatch and other USA TODAY Network papers they were experiencing a variety of illnesses once they returned home. Some reported rashes and headaches while others said they began suffering from nausea.
Testing of the air and waterways near East Palestine has largely come up clean and even prompted politicians, such as Gov. Mike DeWine, to visit residents and drink their tap water with them. Still, locals have questioned the testing being done.
“Why are people getting sick if there’s nothing in the air or water,” one woman shouted during a town hall meeting in mid February at East Palestine High School.
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The Columbus Dispatch
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