EAST PALESTINE — East Palestine resident Misti Allison and Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine gave testimony during the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on improving rail safety on Wednesday.

DeWine came to East Palestine to deliver his remarks virtually from the East Palestine High School Library while Allison traveled to Washington. Both tried to express to the panel the devastating effects the Norfolk Southern derailment has had on the village and surrounding communities.

“I’m here to put a face on this disaster,” Allison told the panel. “This isn’t just a political issue. This is a people issue. Everyone who lives in East Palestine is aware of the trains that pass by, but we’ve never really thought about them. Now, we can’t think about anything else. We will never forget the night the train derailed.”

DeWine echoed those sentiments.

“The backdrop to all things in East Palestine is the near constant rumble of trains running through the village. The people of East Palestine are certainly used to that and many don’t even notice. That was until 8:55 that Friday night,” he said. “At 8:55, life stopped being normal for everyone in this community. It stopped feeling safe when 38 cars of Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hundreds of thousands of pounds of hazardous materials hurdled off the tracks.”

The senate committee hearing was held as lawmakers consider five bills to improve railroad safety. Those bills include the Railway Safety Act of 2023 introduced by Ohio Senators JD Vance and Sherrod Brown and the RAIL Act introduced by U.S. Representatives Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Emilia Strong Sykes (D-OH).

DeWine said he was pleased that both acts will require advanced notifications to local and state emergency responders as to the exact cargo of the trains that travel the railways. It is a provision that the governor insisted be included in both legislation.

Critics of the bill claim such an app already exists that notifies emergency workers of chemical dangers and accuse the bill of having little to do with the derailment. The criticism angered Vance.

“That is an interesting observation and I would love for those people to say it to the face of East Palestine,” he said. “Say it to the firefighters who went into a chemical fire without proper hazmat protection because they didn’t know what was on the train. This legislation fixes that problem as it should. You cannot say this has nothing to do with East Palestine when the very people on the ground (in East Palestine) are begging for some of these changes…and if they allegedly have an app that notifies the proper authorities why did firefighters, just seven weeks ago in my state, go fight a fire caused by a train that they had no idea what was on it.”

When word spread of what exactly was on the train spread, so did panic. That panic only grew when it became apparent that the town was facing the catastrophic failure of the tanker-cars carrying vinyl chloride. A controlled burn was conducted to prevent the failure, but Allison testified that decision to intentionally burn the vinyl chloride brought on new panic.

“None of us knew the dangers which were exactly on that train. We now know that that train carried multiple toxic petrochemicals. When authorities conducted a control burn, it was like a bomb went off – a bomb containing vinyl chloride,” she said. “When burned, these chemicals never go away. Chemicals like dioxins that are not safe at any level and that cause damage, but may not show up for years. Two days later, our government told us that it was safe to come home. But is it safe? People and animals in my community are sick.”

Allison went on to address both the physical and mental implications residents of East Palestine face in the aftermath.

“The EPA tells us that the data is fine, while independent researchers say there are high levels of carcinogens all around us. Who do we trust,” she asked. “And then there is our mental health. The anxiety is real. My 7-year-old has asked me if he is going to die from living in his own home. What do I tell him?”

Allison testified of the financial impacts the derailment has had.

“This preventable accident has put a scarlet letter on our town,” Allison said. “People don’t want to come here. Businesses are struggling. Our home values are plummeting. Even if we wanted to leave, we couldn’t. Who would buy our homes?”

DeWine addressed those concerns as well.

“People wonder about property values of their homes and if they want to sell, will they ever be able to sell their homes,” DeWine added. “Businesses worry about whether they are going to be able to stay afloat. Many people just wonder if life will ever return to normal.”

And then there are the lingering concerns of lingering health problems.

“Mothers tell me they are afraid to let their children outside in the grass to play,” DeWine testified. “Some residents have told me about their bloody noses, their rashes, their coughs that they had developed while others who do not have symptoms now ask what is going to happen in 10 or 15 years.”

DeWine announced during the senate hearing that, in partnership with East Liverpool City Hospital, the Community Health Assessment clinic that was established immediately following the disaster will become a permanent health care provider for East Palestine and other communities

“It will be a full service clinic to provide comprehensive care and treatment,” he said. “Anybody can walk and anybody can be treated. This a long term commitment to the health of the people of East Palestine. They are worried about their future. They are worried about where things are going to be in five to 10 to 15 years. It’s important that they are continuously able to get assessed and it is particularly important to the first responders.”

DeWine told the senate panel that “over 300 first responders” rushed to the aid of East Palestine and it is imperative that those individuals on the frontline be assessed and a baseline established.

“They need to be assured that in 5 to 10 years there is still a place they can go,” he said.

That place should and will be funded by Norfolk Southern, DeWine insisted. He also insisted that the fund be large enough to give East Palestine the confidence that long-term health concerns will be met.

Norfolk Southern CEO has promised such a fund. He also promised to “make things right by East Palestine,” though Allison questioned what that means exactly.

“Alan Shaw has repeatedly said that Norfolk Southern will make it right. But who determines what is right here,” she testified. “East Palestine residents expect meaningful relief, including short- and long-term health care monitoring, home value protection and an actionable, economic developmental plan including the Norfolk Southern training facility placed in our town.”

Brown said that making things right also includes making sure more accidents like the derailment in East Palestine doesn’t happen in other communities and that making it right “will only happen if we take clear, common-sense steps to make our railways safer.” He accused the railroad of following the “Wall Street business model” of cutting costs to boost profits by decreasing the amount of time workers are given to inspect railroad cars to 30 seconds. He criticized Norfolk Southern for not fully supporting railroad safety legislation. He said as trains become “longer, heavier and more dangerous,” more safety regulations are needed.

“The railroads are fighting the most basic of all requirements – of having two crew members in a train,” Brown said. “If you ask 50 people outside anywhere how many people you think work on those trains that are 200 cars or 2 or 3 miles long, you would hear people say five, 10, 20. The railroads want just one person working on a train that’s 3 miles long.That’s frankly crazy.”

When pressed by the panel, Shaw refused to support the mandatory two-person crew rule proposed. Instead, Shaw cited data he said reflects that a two-person crew would not enhance railroad safety. That data was disputed by Ohio State SMART-TD Legislative Director Clyde Whitaker, who testified that a two-person crew would have a positive impact on both preventing disasters and disaster response in the seconds and minutes following derailments.

Allison advocated for any and all regulations that could improve safety and prevent another derailment.

“Remember, this is about people. This about a community that no one had ever heard of before becoming ground zero and a small town being destroyed overnight,” she testified. “We must have strong businesses, but I urge all of you to support common-sense safety regulations so this doesn’t happen again. Together we can make sure East Palestine and the surrounding areas not only recover but thrive and that no other community experiences this tragedy.”

selverd@mojonews.com