COLUMBUS – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending personnel to Ohio to assist Ohio’s efforts to recover from a massive train derailment.
A response coordinator and a team of incident management experts will be sent to East Palestine in northeast Ohio Saturday, according to a joint statement from Gov. Mike DeWine and FEMA Regional Administrator Thomas Sivak.
“FEMA will supplement federal efforts by deploying a Senior Response Official along with a Regional Incident Management Assistance Team to support ongoing operations, including incident coordination and ongoing assessments of potential long-term recovery needs,” the statement read.
The Biden administration is defending its response to the freight train derailment that left toxic chemicals spilled or burned off, even as local leaders and members of Congress demanded that more be done.
The administration says it has “mobilized a robust, multi-agency effort” to support people in East Palestine since the Feb. 3 derailment.
Biden has offered federal assistance to DeWine and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and FEMA has been coordinating with the state emergency operations center and other partners, the White House said.
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who toured the crash site with the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, said he spoke with Biden on Friday and was assured that any assistance the state needs will be given.
“The president is all in on getting FEMA” to provide direct assistance and is “all-in on holding Norfolk Southern accountable,” Brown told an online news conference.
In response to a request from DeWine and Ohio’s congressional delegation, the Health and Human Services Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sending a team of medical personnel and toxicologists to Ohio to conduct public health testing and assessments.
The team will support federal, state and local officials already on the ground to evaluate people who were exposed or potentially exposed to chemicals, officials said.
Since the derailment, residents have complained about headaches and irritated eyes and finding their cars and lawns covered in soot. The hazardous chemicals that spilled from the train killed thousands of fish, and residents have talked about finding dying or sick pets and wildlife.
State to open health clinic
DeWine says the state plans to open a medical clinic early next week to evaluate those who are worried and analyze their symptoms.
DeWine says a plume of chemicals that spilled into the Ohio River has broken up and is no longer a concern and authorities say air and water testing has shown no signs of contaminants.
But some around East Palestine, along the Pennsylvania state line, are still skeptical and afraid to return to their homes.
Biden administration officials defend response
Residents also are frustrated by what they say is incomplete and vague information about the lasting effects from the disaster, which prompted evacuations.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan toured the site Thursday, walking along a creek that still reeks of chemicals as he sought to reassure skeptical residents that the water is fit for drinking and the air safe to breathe.
“I’m asking they trust the government,” Regan said. “I know that’s hard. We know there’s a lack of trust.” Officials are “testing for everything that was on that train,” he said.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has faced criticism from lawmakers and the mayor of East Palestine for not visiting the site, said the Ohio disaster was just one of many derailments that occur each year. A train hauling hazardous materials derailed Thursday near Detroit, but none spilled, officials said.
“There’s clearly more that needs to be done, because while this horrible situation has gotten a particularly high amount of attention, there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailment,” Buttigieg told Yahoo Finance.
He tweeted Friday that his department “will hold Norfolk Southern accountable for any safety violations found to have contributed to the disaster” and will be guided by the findings of the transportation safety board’s independent investigation.