(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
“It is our land to grow our food, it is our health, and it is us in ‘we the people’.”
Following three weeks of recovery, questions, political appearances and obtaining the attention of the world at large, many of the citizens of East Palestine in Ohio and several surrounding communities (including in Beaver County) remain left in varying states of confusion. They are wondering what effects the train derailment will have on them from a health standing, and they also wonder what the needle of justice will sew for the small Columbiana County town…if anything.
During this time, a group of lawyers and advocates have teamed to form “East Palestine Justice“, who hosted an instructional seminar at East Palestine High School on the evening of February 24. The seminar was emceed by two of the group’s leaders: Texas-based lawyer Mikal Watts and national environmental advocate Erin Brockovich.
Brockovich’s appearance drew a large crowd to East Palestine, and her dialogue kicked off the evening with an impassioned plea for the citizens to “stay vigilant” in the battle against those responsible for the derailment and subsequent release of vinyl chloride chemicals. “We hope to share information with you that you might want to know,” Brockovich proclaimed. “I’ve learned in communities over and over again…they can handle the truth whether it scares them or they don’t want to hear it, but what they can’t handle is a mistruth being misled, and a lie.”
Despite technical difficulties that featured multiple changes in lighting and audio throughout her speech, Brockovich nary strayed from the flow of her pleas to the citizens of East Palestine: “You have to band together. Don’t expect someone to give you the answers. Unfortunately, this is not going to be a quick fix…this is going to be a long game.”
The majority of the evening, however, was emceed by Watts. He presented the information collected by East Palestine Justice to showcase how Norfolk Southern was responsible for what happened and what may happen as a result of the chemical release performed soon after the initial derailment. “If you are going to ship these kinds of chemicals through populated areas or small towns like this, you damn sure have an obligation to make sure that you don’t jump the tracks,” Watts stated.
The chemicals identified include the now-synonymous vinyl chloride, along with isobutylene, ethylhexyl acrylate, and benzene; all of which are physically harmful if consumed by humans.
Local politicians such as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine were applauded for their efforts during the recovery period by Watts; conversely, he warned of the citizens to avoid “red herrings” and “non-issues” being presented by the politically motivated finger-pointing happening between opposing parties and certain members of them.
“Don’t get into the political blame game of who should’ve regulated who,” Watts added. “The law says it is this train company’s responsibility. End of story, full stop.”
Watts also echoed Brockovich’s pleas for vigilance and immediate effort by the citizens of East Palestine, specifically pleading for diagnostic testing to see if any chemicals have already entered the body. Their website contains a list of diagnostic test sites for urine and blood tests within a 50-mile radius of East Palestine.
Due to the informational nature of the presentation, no questions were allowed to be answered legally in a public forum; the group, however, can answer questions through private contact. East Palestine Justice will be holding similar presentations in Pennsylvania in the near future (site and time to be determined) and in East Palestine again on March 2.
Pictures from the evening’s event can be seen below:
