The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a health study into the aftermath of the 2023 train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio.
The $10 million research effort comes at the urging of Vice President JD Vance and will take place over five years.
“As a senator, it was incredibly frustrating watching the Biden administration refuse to examine the potentially dangerous health impacts on the people of East Palestine following the train derailment,” Vance said in a statement. “I’m proud that we finally have a new president that takes the concerns of everyday, working-class people seriously. This historic research initiative will finally result in answers that this community deserves, and I’m grateful for the work of Secretary Kennedy and Director Bhattacharya on these efforts.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said those in East Palestine “have a right to clear, science-backed answers about the impact on their health.”
A research opportunity announcement from the NIH describes the project’s goal to “create a program that is co-developed by the community, academic researchers and other stakeholders to address the immediate and longer-term health concerns from exposures to chemicals released during the train derailment.”
Vance noted in a video statement that the program’s launch marks a “very big day not just for the people of East Palestine, but for anybody who wants to understand the connection between the chemicals that we use every day and the effects that it has on people’s health.”
Vance visited the Ohio town in February to recognize the two-year anniversary of the disaster.
Recently-released emails reveal that the Biden administration acknowledged potential “cancer cluster” risks following the train derailment. A March 29, 2024 email exposed FEMA recovery lead James McPherson’s warning that “the occurrence of a cancer‑cluster in EP [East Palestine] is not zero,” referencing the release of carcinogenic chemicals like vinyl chloride.
