Western Pennsylvania residents living near the Ohio border say they have been left out of recovery efforts following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in neighboring East Palestine, Ohio.
The crash led to evacuations and fears of air, water and soil contamination, especially after one chemical was deliberately released and burned to prevent an explosion.
On Tuesday, the administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Michael Regan, returned to East Palestine to visit the spill site and told NBC News the agency is “here to stay and we are not leaving until the job is done.”
But Pennsylvania residents say they are frustrated by a lack of information about the lasting risks from the disaster and demand more transparency from state and federal leaders, who they say are focused too narrowly on recovery efforts within a 2-mile radius surrounding the derailment, a designation set by the EPA.
“Nobody is doing anything to help us,” said Patty Barber, who lives in Darlington, Pennsylvania, less than one mile from the spill site. “Pennsylvania is being left out.”
State officials have said they sympathize with residents’ concerns and are coordinating response efforts across multiple agencies.
Last week, Gov. Josh Shapiro met with residents in Darlington who received water testing through the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
The department has also been working closely with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the state departments of health to monitor developments in East Palestine.
On Monday, Shapiro announced the opening of a health clinic in Beaver and Lawrence counties that closely mirrors one created for East Palestine residents. The state departments of environmental protection and agriculture will be on hand at the clinic to help community members sign up for free water testing and to provide guidance on food and animal safety, according to the governor’s office.
As of Monday, the EPA said, East Palestine’s…
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