WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — East Palestine residents were in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, hoping to reach lawmakers and influence a ban on vinyl chloride nearly six months after a devastating Norfolk Southern train derailment released the toxic chemical into their community.
The town has been calling on lawmakers for months to declare an emergency declaration in East Palestine, as well as to ban the carcinogenic chemical. In addition to their call for assistance, residents have been pushing for accountability and answers as environmental groups to some of those impacted say they still haven’t gotten a clear answer as to what exactly they were exposed to.
East Palestine residents said they planning a Thursday demonstration at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters to demand a vinyl chloride ban.
Resident Jessica Conard, who is in D.C. for the rally, told NewsNation that she doesn’t feel safe living in her community.
“The immediate and long-term safety and welfare of my community is currently under the thumb of a corporation that puts profits over people. So I don’t know how anybody could feel safe in that situation,” Conard said.
People in her community are still feeling sick and experiencing acute health issues six months after the derailment.
Conard has fought for her town in D.C. before. She said the fact that she had to go there again is ridiculous.
“This is a manmade security threat and public health emergency risk, and it’s time to acknowledge that the Ohio train derailment was an unforeseen change in my town,” Conard said. “Ultimately, it could have been prevented.”
East Palestine residents are back in D.C. to ask President Joe Biden to finally declare an emergency that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine requested earlier this month.
“My community learned the hard way about the dangers of vinyl chloride,” Conard said. “So, I will be presenting a petition for the six-year process to begin the banning of vinyl chloride to the APA today, as well as urging those in power to request that emergency declaration.”
Vinyl chloride is used to make a variety of plastics — mostly PVC. However, everything made from this product can be replaced by another chemical that already exists that is much less toxic, Conard explained.
“This is an unnecessary part of that rail transportation, hazardous material transportation that we really don’t need. There’s such an insatiable appetite for plastics right now, but against, anything that’s made by vinyl chloride can actually be replaced by something else,” Conard said.
And Conard isn’t the only East Palestine resident speaking out. Jami Wallace, who also said she doesn’t feel safe at home in their town, has come to D.C. to ask Biden to come to their community on the six-month anniversary of the train’s derailment and ensure that residents have guaranteed federal support.
“We are not OK,” Wallace said. “We have many, many unmet needs. We want our legislators to stand in solidarity with us, and to ask President Biden to get us the federal support that we need and deserve.”
In June, East Palestine residents went to Columbus, Ohio, and disrupted the statehouse before DeWine signed his emergency declaration request. So far, none of them have found the local, state and federal government helpful.
“We are praying that today, that changes — that we don’t have to come to Biden again, and Biden comes to us as he promised,” Wallace said. “It’s been six months; people are still sick.”
Wallace said some people are starting to see the long-term effects of the chemical spill in the form of seizures and neurological problems, which she said is “really, really scary.”
She told NewsNation that the most important way for people to help East Palestine get the support they need is to start writing letters to the president and speaking to their state legislators.
“This is not a blue issue, nor a red issue,” Wallace said. “This is an issue of human lives and this can happen to any one of you. I certainly never thought that this would happen in my town. I never thought I would be left to suffer by my own government. So if you help us, you’re actually helping yourselves.”