Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Officials Insist Air Is Safe, Residents Near Ohio Train Incident Fall Ill
Residents and workers near the site where a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed this month have been diagnosed with bronchitis and other conditions that doctors and nurses suspect are linked to chemical exposure. (Bendix and Victoria Lozano, 2/25)
Three weeks after the toxic train derailment in Ohio, an independent analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data has found nine air pollutants at levels that, if they persist, could raise long-term health concerns in and around East Palestine. The analysis by Texas A&M University researchers stands in contrast to statements by state and federal regulators that air near the crash site is completely safe, despite residents complaining about rashes, breathing problems and other health effects. (Dance, 2/24)
Environmental officials said Sunday that residential and outdoor air quality levels in East Palestine, Ohio, remained normal, just days after a town hall where frustrated residents and activists continued to demand answers on what chemicals they have been exposed to after the toxic train derailment earlier this month. (2/26)
President Joe Biden on Friday directed federal agencies to go door-to-door in East Palestine, Ohio, to check on families affected by the toxic train derailment that has morphed into a heated political controversy. Under Biden’s order, teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency will visit homes beginning Saturday. Workers will ask how residents are doing, see what they need and connect them with appropriate resources from government and nonprofit organizations, the White House said. (Daly and Amiri, 2/24)
Following a one-day pause for federal authorities to take over operations, officials announced Sunday they can continue removing contaminated waste from the site of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio — a city with residents eager for this nightmare to be over. Since the train derailed three weeks ago, Norfolk Southern has handled the disposal of contaminated materials. That changed Friday when the Environmental Protection Agency paused shipments to ensure all the sites receiving waste were certified by the EPA and that travel routes adhered to federal law, said Debra Shore, the EPA’s regional administrator. (Brasch, 2/26)
The disposal of toxic waste from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment fire into Houston and Harris County will be paused, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee announced Saturday afternoon. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is pausing the disposal of an estimated 1.1 million gallons of hazardous waste into a disposal facility in Harris County days after local leaders reassured residents they were monitoring the situation. (Limehouse, 2/25)
