Originally published April 12, 2023 4:42 am PDT
A truck containing toxic soil has spilled near East Palestine, Ohio just months after a train derailment contaminated the small town.
QUICK FACTS:
- Just months after a train derailment contaminated the town of East Palestine, Ohio, a truck carrying the toxic soil away from the original site dumped its contents miles away.
- A commercial tractor-trailer holding nearly 40,000 pounds of contaminated soil from the original derailment site was involved in the crash Monday.
- The driver reportedly suffered injuries from the accident, when his trailer went off the side of the road and overturned onto its side after hitting a ditch.
- Highway Patrol estimated roughly 20,000 pounds of toxic soil was spilled onto the road.
- The crash occurred on state Route 165 near Waterford Road in Columbiana County.
GOP REP. MIKE TURNER ON THE FREQUENT TOXIC SPILLS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS:
“This is a relatively frequent occurrence. Not to this scale, but throughout the Midwest, as we have lots of trains that are traversing with hazardous materials that go through towns, sometimes cities, and could impact the health of the people that are there. The Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg ought to be on this. He’s been ignoring this,” Turner said.
BACKGROUND:
- Earlier last month, research out of Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon University revealed East Palestine contained “higher than normal” levels of toxic chemicals in the environment following the train derailment.
- The report determined that benzene, vinyl chloride, arcolein, butadiene, o-Xylene, trichloroethylene, napthalene trichloroethane, and p-Xylene were all detectable in the air near the crash site.
- According to the researchers, acrolein presents the biggest risk to nearby residents as the limit discovered was well beyond what is considered “safe.”
- Around the same time, East Palestine resident Wade Lovett reported he was having trouble breathing following the train derailment and that his voice changed dramatically as a result.
- Lovett said he was struggling to breathe to the point where he felt like he was “drowning,” but doctors didn’t know what to do.
- “Doctors say I definitely have the chemicals in me but there’s no one in town who can run the toxicological tests to find out which ones they are,” he said. “My voice sounds like Mickey Mouse. My normal voice is low. It’s hard to breathe, especially at night. My chest hurts so much at night I feel like I’m drowning. I cough up phlegm a lot.”
