The Trump administration is launching a research initiative into the long-term health outcomes stemming from the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
According to an announcement seeking research applications, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to allocate up to $10 million across five years (fiscal 2025 through 2030) to fund one to three awards.
The project aims to evaluate the impacts of exposure to chemicals of concern in East Palestine and its surrounding communities in the short and long term. The studies will also focus on public health tracking and surveillance of the community’s health conditions, the agency said.
The projects are slated to start this fall.
On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in a flaming crash in East Palestine. Its 38 cars were carrying hazardous chemicals — including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol, and benzene residue.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and other officials decided to burn off five tank cars of vinyl chloride in a “vent and burn” three days later, to avoid what Norfolk Southern warned could be a catastrophic explosion.
Vinyl chloride is a highly combustible gas and a known carcinogen. The vent and burn effort released more than a million pounds of the chemical into the air of East Palestine and the surrounding area for days, and came under intense scrutiny.
According to the NIH, community members experienced and reported a range of initial health issues, including headaches and respiratory, skin and eye irritations, prompting concern about broader long-term impacts on maternal and child health as well as psychological, immunological, respiratory and cardiovascular effects.
