The Trump administration has launched a study of the long-term health consequences for residents of East Palestine, Ohio, from a train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals in 2023.
The initiative, spearheaded by Vice President J.D. Vance, comes after he was brushed off by Biden administration officials when he urged a study on any detrimental environmental and health effects on the East Palestine community. Mr. Vance was a U.S. senator representing Ohio at the time.
Under President Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of the National Institutes of Health Jay Bhattacharya have launched a five-year, $10 million research initiative to investigate the disaster’s long-term health impacts.
“I’ve been to East Palestine a number of times, and they’re very worried about, what are the long-term impacts of these chemicals in the water, in the air, what effect does it have on their kids and grandkids after five years, 10 years, 15 years of exposure?” Mr. Vance said during an announcement of the initiative, while flanked by Mr. Kennedy and Dr. Battacharya.
“I tried as a United States senator to work with the Biden administration, and they refused to do anything to actually study the effects of these long-term exposures on the people of East Palestine,” he said.
Mr. Kennedy called the effort “the first large-scale, coordinated, multi-year federal study focused specifically on the long-term health impacts of the East Palestine disaster.
“The program will support robust community-engaged epidemiological research to understand the impacts of exposures on short and long-term injuries,” he said.
According to Mr. Kennedy, the program will also “support public health tracking and surveillance of the community’s health conditions to help us make informed health care choices and take appropriate preventative measures.”
Hellbound and Down 