East Palestine residents worry rashes, headaches and other symptoms may be tied to chemicals from train crash

CNN
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Several residents in East Palestine, Ohio, said they developed rashes, sore throats, nausea and headaches after returning home this week, and they worry these new symptoms are related to the release of chemicals. after the train derailment two weeks ago.

The February 3 incident sparked a massive fire and prompted officials to evacuate hundreds of people living near the area over concerns that a dangerous, highly flammable material could catch fire. To prevent a potentially deadly explosion, toxic vinyl chloride gas was released and ignited, creating a plume of black smoke that enveloped the town for days.

Other chemicals of concern at the site include phosgene and hydrogen chloride, which are released when vinyl chloride decomposes; butyl acrylate; ethylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate; and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. All of these chemicals can change as they break down or react with other things in the environment, creating a mixture of potentially toxic substances.

Residents were allowed to return home on February 8 after air monitoring in East Palestine did not detect any chemicals of concern.

Officials added indoor air test in about 500 houses also did not show any danger. Tests of tap water from the city system did not show any chemicals at levels that could pose a health hazard, although officials are still testing water from rivers, streams and wells in residential areas in the area.

These test results have failed to reassure some residents, who say something is making them sick — even if officials can’t find it.

“When we got back on the 10th, that’s when we decided we couldn’t raise our kids here,” said Amanda Greathouse. There is a horrible, persistent smell that “reminds me of curling fluid”.

Greathouse said she was back at their home, about a block away from the crash site, 30 minutes into a rash and nausea.

Greathouse, who has two preschool-age children, said: “When we left, I developed a skin rash on my arm and my eyes burned for a few days afterwards.

She and her husband have only returned home twice since the derailment to get papers and clothes.

Greathouse said: “The chemical smell was so strong it made me nauseous. “I just wanted to quickly grab what I needed and leave. I only took a few clothes because every clothes smelled of chemicals, I was afraid to wear them.”

She said she has also dropped her children from kindergarten since the derailment. Even though her son’s teacher had promised her that students would only use bottled water, she was still worried about other types of pollution.

“I don’t want to take my child out of preschool because I really like the teachers he goes to, but I’m still scared. Some teachers have even expressed their concerns about air quality,” Greathouse said.

“We are very fortunate to have rented our house. Don’t think I’ll ever say that. I feel so bad for my landlord, but I can’t risk my family’s health.”

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said the request for medical professionals from the US Department of Health and Human Services has been approved and officials will arrive early next week to help build a clinic for patients. .

“We know the science shows that the water is safe, the air is safe. But we also know very well that residents in East Palestine are concerned,” he said on Friday.

DeWine said he plans to set up a clinic where HHS officials and others will answer questions, assess symptoms and provide medical expertise.

The Registry of Toxic Substances and Diseases, part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also said it expected a team in place on Monday, according to a release. CDC spokesman, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to share details. The team will conduct a Chemical Exposure Assessment investigation, examining the impact of chemical releases on people and communities.

Volatile organic compounds released by controlled explosions can cause symptoms similar to those reported by some residents of East Palestine, including headache, sore throat, and irritation. nose and eyes, but experts say it is difficult to link chemical exposure to health effects.

“It’s a huge challenge,” said Erin Haynes, chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University of Kentucky.

“Communities are currently exposed to a mixture of many volatile organic compounds derived from petroleum, so it could be not just one but possibly a mixture of them,” says Haynes.

Haynes, who has experience investigating toxic exposures in the community, said she is seeking permission from the university’s Institutional Review Board to start a study in East Palestine to help provide more information to people. about their exposure to chemicals in the air, water and soil.

“They need all the help they can get,” she said. “This is a major emergency. This is a great disaster. They need all the support we can all provide.

“Evidence of exposure to the poison is most likely a rash,” she said.

Audrey DeSanzo also wanted some answers.

“How safe is it really?” DeSanzo, who lives about half a mile from the derailment with two school-age children. “Not all of these people are getting rashes, conjunctivitis, chemical pinkeye.”

“You have a sore throat here. It smells here.”

After derailment, DeSanzo and her children evacuated just across the Pennsylvania border, where her uncle had an empty duplex. They sleep on the floor and on the couch.

When she got home this week, DeSanzo said, she was ventilating her house, changing the fireplace filter and washing their bed sheets and clothes. Even so, she said, they all recently went to a local urgent care clinic because her children had coughs and “our throats were very upset.”

Tests for strep throat were negative. The doctor prescribed cough medicine for the kids and told DeSanzo that it was probably chemicals.

DeSanzo said the doctor said she had seen several residents in East Palestine with similar symptoms and advised them to call poison control and go to a local hospital for blood tests. She hasn’t had a blood test yet.

Debbie Pietrzak, a spokeswoman for Salem Regional Medical Center, which runs the clinic DeSanzo went to, confirmed that it has treated a small number of residents who have had symptoms such as sore throats and problems with their health. Respiratory. She said the hospital’s emergency room only received less than 10 patients from East Palestine.

“Our facilities and primary care providers are ready to help anyone seeking medical care, and we are working closely with the County Health Department and local agencies. Other local, state and federal agencies are monitoring the situation,” Pietrzak said in an email.

Natalie Rine, a pharmacist who directs the Central Ohio Poison Center, said state poison control centers are also receiving calls from residents of East Palestine. The specialists who run the helpline are trained in toxicology and can help if the chemical is a health concern.

DeSanzo said she wanted to leave but couldn’t afford it. Her mortgage is about $400 a month, less than half of the other homes she’s found in an area further away from the crash site.

“I make $14 an hour. Where should I go?” she speaks. “I don’t want to be here now with my children.”

Ayla and Tyler Antoniazzi and their two daughters have been living in East Palestine since April. Ayla says, after the train accident, they weren’t sure about moving, but now they are considering it.

Antoniazzis returned to their home less than a mile from the crash site a day after the evacuation notice was lifted.

Ayla said: “Before bringing the children home, I washed all the sheets and a pile of clothes, cleaned the surfaces and ventilated the house. “But the next day when they wake up, they are no longer themselves. My oldest has a rash on his face. So is the youngest brother, but not as bad. 2-year-old child is holding his eyes and complaining of eye pain. She was very lethargic, so I took them to my parents’ house.”

Ayla said her daughters are staying with her parents in Leetonia, about 20 minutes west of East Palestine, until the couple can ensure their home is safe.

She said the children’s symptoms were better in Leetonia, but one child developed a rash again when she returned to school in East Palestine on February 13.

“I have allowed my 4-year-old to go back to preschool, East Palestine Primary School. She came back two days and another rash on her hands and started to itch, so I pulled her out,” Ayla said.

Ayla has scheduled a medical appointment with her daughters next week to discuss their symptoms and testing options, she said.

Kari Nadeau, an allergist and chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health, says it’s the right thing to do.

Nadeau says rashes, sore throats and headaches can be clinical signs of sensitivity to the chemical.

“There are people who are very sensitive to the chemical and can sense it before the monitoring equipment can detect it,” says Nadeau. “There is no one great diagnostic pathway for chemical sensitivities. A lot of it is based on clinical symptoms, including rash.”

Nadeau and other environmental health experts recommend that people who are experiencing symptoms see a health care provider, primarily to get medical care but also so that their case can be recorded. again.

“So if there’s a cluster, or if there’s a group of people suddenly complaining of a rash or having symptoms, it really helps doctors to partner with organizations like the CDC and learn the facts more than one could. little,” she said.