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6/19/2024
U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) and Mike Carey (R-Ohio) yesterday asked House Energy and Commerce Committee leadership to call for a hearing on legislation that would authorize funding to study the long-term public health effects of the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Deluzio and Carey are cosponsors of the proposed East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act of 2024, which calls for federal funding of a health impact study through fiscal-year 2028. Deluzio represents constitutents in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, who live close to the derailment site in Ohio.
U.S. Reps. March Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) introduced the bill.
Residents of East Palestine and surrounding area need to understand the derailment's long-term impact on their health, Deluzio and Carey wrote, according to a press release.
"To ensure the assessment is a success, we support the Department of Health and Human Services technical assistance to the legislation to allow for appropriate time and resources to fully understand the impact of the spill to the surrounding community’s public health," they said.
In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern Railway train, which was carrying hazardous materials, derailed in East Palestine. The derailment led to a fire and subsequent venting and burning of toxic chemicals. The accident caused no fatalities.
The National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to meet June 25 to deliberate over a draft report of its investigation into the derailment, and vote on findings, probable cause and safety recommendations.