Mom who fled with baby after toxic derailment wants officials to ‘drink the water’ in Ohio town

A couple with an infant who fled their home after a toxic train derailment in Ohio earlier this month isn’t sure they’ll ever make it home, despite what state officials say.

The Feb. 3 derailment prompted officials to evacuate hundreds of people from their homes in the East Palestinian city amid concerns that hazardous and flammable materials could catch fire.

To prevent the toxic vinyl chloride gas – used in the production of PVC plastic – from exploding, officials were brought out to control the smoke. The gas was vented and burned after being diverted into a trench, sending smoke into the city for days.

East Palestinian residents Kasie and Nathaniel Locke remember the night of the derailment, with Kasie telling CBC News they have been “stuck in limbo” since, staying with his mother in North Lima, about a 16-minute drive from the site.

Dozens of cars from a freight train bound for Pennsylvania derailed shortly before 9:00 p.m. on Friday, and a young family left their home around 2 a.m.

It smelled like rubber and oil that was “very quiet” and “unbreathable,” Nathaniel said.

“We both had to wrap our faces from receiving a blanket from Lucas.”

That weekend, he said he had a headache, a runny nose, and burning and numbness in his eyes and throat.

Kasie said it has been “anxious” to think about her son’s health.

“It’s very scary. I mean, we don’t feel safe to go back … not with a two-month-old,” she said. “Be aware, I can’t do it. I don’t know what effect it will have on his health.”

She said baby Lucas had been taken to Akron Children’s Hospital to have his nose suctioned, and that he had used saline and “through-the-nasal aspirators, etc.,” to manage the congestion, adding that he had not. whether they are sick or if their symptoms are related to derailment.

The evacuation order was lifted Feb. 8, when Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and other officials said it was safe for residents to return to their homes.

State tests for municipal drinking water

DeWine on Friday said the pollution that went down the Ohio River has disappeared, and that state testing has never shown that contaminated water entered the municipal drinking system.

In response to the derailment and safety concerns raised, U.S. Senate commerce committee chairwoman Maria Cantwell said late Friday that she has opened an investigation into hazardous materials safety practices.

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency got a first-hand look Thursday at the tolls left behind by the derailment.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Thursday that anyone who fears being at home should try the government’s tests.

“People are not comfortable. They are being asked to leave their homes,” he said, adding that if he lives there, he would be willing to move his family back to the area if tests show it is safe.

The Ohio EPA says the latest tests show five wells that supply the city’s drinking water are free of contaminants.

‘Will he bring his family back?’

Kasie Locke has a challenge for officials who believe the town of 4,700 is a safe place.

“I want them to come live in East Palestine and drink the water, bathe with the water. I want to hear them say, do they want to live here? Will they bring their children here? Will they bring his family. back? Because I’m going to have a hard time believing he’s going to say yes.”

The US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday they were sending a team of medical personnel and toxicologists to conduct tests and public health assessments.

Federal Railroad Administration chief Amit Bose will visit the site next week and the Environmental Protection Agency is ramping up testing.