Democrats Discuss Concerns Following East Palestine Train Derailment
Today, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and Assistant Minority Whip Senator Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood), and state Representative Lauren McNally (D-Youngstown) hosted a discussion regarding concerns following the East Palestine train derailment. Interested parties from environmental and agricultural groups on the state, federal, and nonprofit levels participated.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to come together today with experts and advocates to make sure we’re taking action to help those affected by this disaster,” said Senator Hicks-Hudson. “There are a number of next steps that we need to take. The first is making sure that the people on the ground in East Palestine have the resources they need and that residents feel safe in their homes. We also need to look at improving the resources available for our emergency responders and strengthening our state laws to ensure a unified approach.”
“What we heard today is that this disaster will likely impact people well beyond the initial one-mile radius,” said Leader Antonio. “The effects of this could be with us for a while and we should take any and all steps necessary to provide the residents of Columbiana County with resources and relief. The legislature should be open to consider utilizing every resource available at the state and federal to address the short-term and long-term consequences.”
The Ohio EPA shared a number of resources currently available to residents in the area of the derailment:
For smells, fumes, animals, health and other concerns:
Taggart Road Incident Hotline: (234) 542-6474
To request in-home air testing (for residences within the 1-mile evacuation zone):
Residential Re-Entry Request Hotline: (330) 849-3919
Private water well questions:
Columbiana County Health Department: (330) 424-0272
Residents sourcing water from a private well are strongly encouraged to request water testing and can do so at this number.
Air monitoring information:
The U.S. EPA has been performing air monitoring in response to the derailment. Information specific to the derailment, including air monitoring results, is available on their webpage.
Any other questions:
Any other Ohio EPA-related calls about the incident can be directed to the Public Interest Center’s Lisa Cochran or Mary McCarron: (614) 644-2160