As cleanup continues, East Palestine residents throw out furniture, experience headaches
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (KDKA) — The smell of chemicals is still in the air in East Palestine, Ohio, with residents raising questions about what happens next.
The train derailment, fire and hazardous chemical leak happened in William Huger's backyard. He has lived his whole life in the same house, which is steps from the train tracks everyone is talking about.
"This is ground zero," he said.
Huger let KDKA-TV walk around his property on Wednesday. We got an up-close look at the burnt-out Norfolk Southern rail cars.
"All of the news stations are talking about this, but we still don't have (President Joe) Biden here. We still don't have FEMA," he said.
Huger stood in line for hours for Wednesday night's town hall, but Norfolk Southern backed out of the meeting.
"I kind of knew the answers before they said it. They're trying to keep this somewhat hush-hush, but they can't. The news is everywhere," Huger said.
Crews dug up the gravel and soil along the tracks Thursday, hauling it away with blue e-tanks. This comes after the EPA accused the railroad company of covering up this dirt, saying it failed to properly dispose of the contaminated soil after the derailment.
Work appeared to abruptly stop when KDKA-TV's cameras showed up. We watched as everyone hopped off the equipment, gathered behind a tree and turned their backs.
"They created the problem, fix it," Huger said.
Norfolk Southern's CEO released a new statement Thursday. CEO Alan Shaw reassured residents, like Huger, saying in part, "I know there are a lot of questions without answers. I know you're tired. I know you're worried. We will not let you down."
Some people who live in East Palestine said they feel like their life was taken away from them. Some can't breathe without a headache, while others threw out their furniture, saying it smelled of chemicals.
