(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(East Palestine, OH) Over three years after the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, people are learning about the health impacts of the incident with studies confirming that people were in fact exposed to those toxic chemicals which were released into the air, soil and water.

The derailment occurred on February 3rd, 2023. 

Researchers from the University of Kentucky and Wayne State recently shared the outcomes of urine samples that were taken five months after the incident occurred.

They found that 74% of samples from people who were living within a mile of the scene had detected levels of exposure to vinyl chloride. 

Those studies will increase next week as lab testing officially gets underway as part of a larger long-term medical initiative that was launched earlier this year.