Still Here

On February 3, 2023, as residents of East Palestine, Ohio settled in for the weekend, a train derailed in their backyard. In the days that followed, more than 100,000 gallons of hazardous chemicals spilled into their community, into their water, and into their air. Properly managed, it might have been a small, contained accident. But post-incident mismanagement led to effects as far away as New Hampshire. From a train that had sparked for over 20 miles before derailing.

In the months following the disaster, residents experienced chemical burns, migraines, seizures, cardiac symptoms, cancer recurrence. Visitors left with nosebleeds that continued for a month. Kids bled from places other than their noses.

A year later, residents continue to suffer clear health effects. They do not have proper healthcare access, or even testing for their homes and bodies. They sit under financial pressure to sign away their right to sue. Yet they cannot know the health conditions they will face, or when they can go home safely.

Their stories illustrate the ongoing need for crisis response and support. They highlight the urgency of reform, and better local and national disaster response. Clean Air Action and RiverWise partnered to amplify the stories of this community after it was transformed by a preventable crisis. These chemicals are created from fossil fuels, then transported to convert into plastic (See stoppetrochemicalspa.org)

The residents are a picture of resilience in the face of adversity. Their rallying cry speaks of government and corporate abuse and negligence, while they tell us:

We are still here, and we need your help.

  • “The train tracks were in my backyard growing up, and I had never thought about what was on the trains or if there was anything dangerous that was being carried.”

    Misti

  • “People don't understand it. Daren and I've been together for almost 40 years. We bought our bed 30 years ago. And we've slept in the same bed. That's where we talk about our problems. That's where we laugh. That's where we discuss our lives. We can't go in that bed.”

    Stella

  • "You could sit here (at my home) and watch the fires. You could smell it. There were times we couldn’t be here because the smell was so strong. The chemicals would lay in my dog’s water dishes."

    Chase

  • "Some people have lived there for 60 years or for generations. That’s traumatizing to believe that everything’s just gone. It’s like watching your whole planet get blown up."

    Zsuzsa

  • "Somebody asked me, if I could have what I want... but I can't have what I want, because I just want it the way it was February 2nd."

    Daren

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Candice Desanzo
Jami and Chris Wallace
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Rob Two-Hawks
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Chase Kinder
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“I do have this delusional hope that in the end what's meant to happen and what's gonna be good for the collective will happen if we fight for it. All the people in the United States and in the world hold power. But we are so convinced that we don't have it, or that it's not gonna be enough, and one voice isn't enough. And so that's the important thing about building collective power. No one person can take all of this on all the time. But if we have a collective group and we all understand what we're working towards, and sometimes what we're working against, it makes it doable. And it makes it possible. And that's how we grow as Americans."

— Hilary

Make the People Whole

It’s not too late to take action and make East Palestine whole. There are four ways to take action: Tell the Biden administration to make a Major Disaster Declaration, provide Medicare for Life for anyone impacted by the derailment, ban vinyl chloride, and enact rail safety measures.

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A Picture of Resilience

  • “I used to be really cynical, but the more I see people feeling the same way, feeling the same frustration about things that matter, I realize that we can take that energy instead of just being all salty and depressed about it, we can actually do something with it and make a change. If we all work together.”

    Zsuzsa

  • “I feel like I have more of the strength that I didn't know that I needed to have. They say there's a silver lining in everything. I was thinking, should I go into social work? What should I do next? Is this my opportunity to venture out from my comfort zone with losing my job? Maybe this is the right opportunity for me to branch out and do something new.”

    Tamara

  • “I’ve learned that maybe I’m stronger than what I thought. You feel weak sometimes, you want to give up, but I’ll never give up. Because it's not about me, it's about my kids. As a mother, you fight to the death for your kids. That's what we do.”

    Candice

  • “First of all, it's about reconnecting yourself. Because we split off from part of our psyche if we don't fully grieve; if we don't process what occurred. And deal with the emotion and let it be, let it go. There's a part of yourself, in the same way that we repress trauma, we repress what is unfinished in terms of grieving and something can come and trigger it at a later point and bang. This is one of the most important things that you can do spiritually, let alone to heal — learn to grieve, and grieve fully, completely.”

    Rob

  • "People are used to helping people in this community. It's an underlying foundation here."

    Chaney

East Palestine in the Media

Thanksgiving dinner served to Pennsylvania and Ohio families impacted by Norfolk Southern train derailment

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Thanksgiving dinner served to Pennsylvania and Ohio families impacted by Norfolk Southern train derailment |

Questions remain 1 year after decision to 'vent and burn' in Norfolk Southern derailment

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Questions remain 1 year after decision to 'vent and burn' in Norfolk Southern derailment |

'Still Here' project looks to give East Palestine residents a new voice, continue the call to action

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'Still Here' project looks to give East Palestine residents a new voice, continue the call to action |

This project has been a collaboration between Clean Air Action and RiverWise