(ConservativeCore.com)- After authorities ignited a controlled fire following a derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, Biden officials within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are refusing to test the air, according to The Western Journal.
The derailment of the Norfolk Southern train carrying chemicals, such as vinyl chloride, reportedly led to a controlled burn to prevent an explosion. But the burn sent plumes of smoke into the air that residents are now saying is causing health complications, including “chemical bronchitis,” rashes, and general feelings of weakness. There have also been reports of residents’ animals dying.
Debra Shore, the EPA Region 5 administrator, said last week that the agency will not test the air for dioxins, which are toxic chemicals that can cause “cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system,” the EPA states. Shore added that they had no reason to conduct a test and suggested that dioxins are everywhere in the environment.
A backlash against the administration’s silence about the disaster has ensued after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg refused to visit until recently and after FEMA denied assistance to the town, arguing that the disaster was not “natural.”
While the EPA has reportedly tested the air and water and concluded that it is safe for residents, healthcare workers are citing an increase in patients experiencing complications.
Republican Senator J.D. Vance has recently visited the area and documented a creek bed filled with toxins. As Vance uses a stick to move the water, blotches of chemical bubbles could be seen rising beyond the “dead worms and dead fish.” He reportedly challenged the EPA Administrator Michael Regan to drink the water but recommended that residents drink bottled water until it is confirmed that there are no toxins.
Speaking to those living in East Palestine, Stephen Lester, the science director at the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice, said that health complications can result from even a small amount of dioxin.
