Its inhabitants Ohio with headaches and nausea in connection with the derailment of a train carrying dangerous chemicals, they express fears about the long-term consequences of the accident on human health.

The consequences for local animals are already beginning to show.

The crash killed more than 43,000 fish, amphibians, crustaceans and other aquatic creatures in nearby streams and canals, government officials said.

“It will take time for local ecosystems to recover. We know it won’t be a quick process, but they will recover,” said Mary Merz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Local officials say there have been no side effects, illness or death of land animals, but that hasn’t stopped residents from expressing their fear of sick animals and the impact on wildlife in the area.

According to local resident Kayla Miller, she was tending her chickens one night when she found the rooster dead. He began to suspect that something was wrong when the other chickens also developed unusual symptoms. One had convulsions, the other stopped walking. According to her, she believes that all this is the result of the action of toxic chemicals that were released into the atmosphere after the crash. “Before it happened, everything was great for them,” he says.

Thousands of dead fish

Officials have been checking streams at four locations, removing dead animals to prevent scavengers from consuming contaminated fish carcasses.

Merz notes that most of the 43,700 dead aquatic creatures were small fish that probably died shortly after derailing at the stream.

Dead fish in the water of East Palestine.

A local resident says that he notices 30-40 people a day in the river, now there are only dead people. pic.twitter.com/JDlXlumGjq

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePress) February 23, 2023

None of these creatures were considered endangered, he said.

However, local residents report diseases on their farms. Miller, who lives on a family farm with more than 100 animals, reported two dead rabbits in 24 hours. And she’s not the only one reporting symptoms that point to disease in animals.

“No one has the answers”

No one was hurt in the derailment and ensuing bloody chaos. However, fearful of a possible explosion and to avoid it, officials began to carry out controlled explosions.

Both vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic, flammable chemical used in the plastics industry, and other flammable chemicals carried on the train, such as 2-butoxyethanol, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, methyl propene, were released into the environment after derailment. .

This week, the Ohio Department of Health opened a free testing clinic at the city’s church amid public concern about the accident’s health risks to humans.

Many still have severe symptoms such as headache, nausea, coughing, burning throat and nose, and panic attacks.

Retiree Ron Caratelli and his wife Peggy live within a mile of the crash site and are unable to return home due to side effects.

“Every time we try to go home, my eyes and throat burn, and there is a chemical taste in my mouth, this is not good … What will happen to me and others in the long term? Nobody has an answer. Is it generally safe to garden? We are old, we will soon die. But what about small children in the city? How will all this affect them? asks the 63-year-old man.

Some residents have already sued the railroad company.

Despite this, authorities still claim that the air is “safe” and that water tests in the city’s water supply system have not revealed the presence of any contaminants.

Meanwhile, cleanup work is underway in East Palestine amid a federal investigation into the accident.

The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Norfolk Southern to “clean up contaminated soil and water resources” and “reimburse EPA for the cost of clean-up services to be provided to residents and businesses to continue providing.”

Source: BBC/Washington Post/Guardian.