New study suggests health damage from exposure to Ohio toxic train spill

Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Photograph: Gene J Puskar/AP View image in fullscreen Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Photograph: Gene J Puskar/AP New study suggests health damage from exposure to Ohio toxic train spill Research finds immune systems still ‘responding to toxic chemical exposures’ related to East Palestine derailment In the weeks after the East Palestine train wreck culminated in a towering fireball and chemical release in the small Ohio town, Jessica Boersma was seriously exposed to the stew of compounds emitted from the derailment site. Boersma lives less than a quarter mile away, and, as a city council member, she had to spend significant time at the site coordinating with first responders. Now the first long-term research carried out on East Palestine residents exposed to the disaster suggests how it may have affected her – blood drawn six months after the accident showed signs of chronic inflammation and altered cell counts suggesting the chemical exposure had damaged her body. More broadly, the new peer-reviewed pilot study that checked blood samples suggests that some East Palestine residents’ immune systems were still “responding to toxic chemical exposures” by fighting off an attack, or repairing their bodies. The research did not look for particular diseases. Compared with a control group, East Palestine residents showed higher numbers of red blood cells, higher hemoglobin levels, inflammation and an increase in the number of cells the body dispatches to attack and “eat” chemicals in order to remove them from the body. The East Palestine residents also showed higher levels of proteins that work to repair tissue damage, and lower numbers of cells that fight infection, which suggests a response to a chemical exposure. “This pilot shows evidence that the bodies of those who lived in close proximity to the site were still fighting and repairing from a toxic exposure,” said Erin Haynes, a University of Kentucky study co-author. The researchers will next check a larger group of residents and first responders for the same issues. The studies are part of a broader University of Kentucky-led effort to track long-term health problems in East Palestine residents. Dozens of cars on the Norfolk Southern train derailed and burned in February 2023 in the town of 4,700 at the edge of the Appalachian hills. The fire burned near tankers carrying vinyl chloride, and, two days later, fearing a “major explosion”, officials conducted a controlled burn of the chemical as a prevention measure. In the immediate vicinity and in pockets throughout the city, a potent chemical odor hung in the air for weeks. The levels of dioxin were as much as 14 times higher than what US Environmental Protection Agency scientists had found to be safe, while volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other toxic substances were also emitted. Some residents have since r