In order to recoup losses, do you have to lose more? Looking at East Palestine three years later

There are many conflicts playing out today like a deadly game of Chicken.  Chicken is the game where a conflict where two parties engage in a dangerous, high-stakes test of wills to see who will "back down" or surrender first to avoid disaster.  Examples include political parties embattled over the federal budget.  Protesters and law-enforcement officials engage in conflicts that are increasingly heated.  And, if disaster victims desire a “buyout” from the government, they might have to live in their poisoned surroundings until the desired payout comes. 

Recently while researching a dust control article, we were reminded of the Times Beach, Missouri disaster, when dioxin-laced oil was sprayed on roads and a horse arena to keep dust down.  The accounts of the suffering endured by these residents and their animals was just horrible. (One woman’s defiant remembering keeps the tragic story of Times Beach alive)  The disaster started in the early 1970s, but tests for dioxins didn’t start until 1982 and the US government didn’t announce the buyout of properties until February 22, 1983.  That was more than a decade of illness and calls for action from the townspeople.  The woman who survived the buyout, closing and demolition of that town, Marilyn Leistner, now in her 80’s, has advice for the residents of East Palestine, Ohio: you need to protect yourselves and your children and do the best thing for their health, which is not even letting them play outside.  If you stay, you need to unite in order to get attention for any desired outcome.  (A voice from the buried town of Times Beach has advice for East Palestine residents: Get out)

The link between the two incidents is dioxins.  Dioxins are a group of highly toxic, persistent environmental pollutants (POPs) formed as unwanted byproducts of industrial processes like incineration, chemical manufacturing, and paper pulp bleaching. Known for causing cancer, reproductive issues, and immune system damage, they accumulate in human fat tissue, with over 90% of exposure occurring through contaminated food, particularly meat, dairy, and fish.  Dioxins were present in the oil sprayed on the roads in Times Beach. The oil came from a chemical plant that once produced Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. That waste contained highly toxic dioxin. Dioxins were also suspected of being a byproduct of the East Palestine train derailment and “controlled burn” that followed.

There is a Government Accountability Project (GAP) which supports the testimony of whistleblowers and independent testing, so that communities who feel their disasters have been mishandled by federal agencies have a voice.  The GAP filed a lot of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests during and after the East Palestine Train Derailment.  According to a podcast by Appodlachia approaching the 3rd anniversary of this incident, Senior Environmental Officer of GAP Lesley Pacey stated when the train derailed, spills and fires from the derailment started to release dangerous chemicals like dioxins, phosgene, hydrogen chloride, and others, and then 3 days later, a decision was made to open burn the 5 train cars of vinyl chloride (Open burning of hazardous materials is generally restricted under federal environmental regulations, making the decision unusual and controversial).  The reason given for this departure from precedent at the time was this was the best option to prevent a catastrophic explosion because the train cars of vinyl chloride were polymerizing (getting hot enough to explode), which Pacey said was not true.  According to documents cited by GAP, internal communications also referenced concerns about potential long-term cancer risk, which advocacy groups argue were not fully reflected in public communications at the time.   Other reported facts of the current situation in this area include:

• Some residents have reported chronic symptoms including headaches, kidney problems, heart issues, and in some cases cancers, though long-term epidemiological studies are ongoing.

• Residents who may want to leave are not able to sell their homes due to contamination

• No federal laws have changed to prevent this from happening again

• Independent testing conducted by Scott Smith in late 2025 reported rising dioxin levels in certain soil samples.

• Residents say that the government has not done anything except to provide money for university studies.  

A nearly 40-year veteran of the EPA’s Superfund program and an expert on contamination sites, Dr. Kevin Garrahan came forward as a whistleblower in the Government Accountability Project.  He stated that there is nothing “controlled” about the open burn of chemicals, and not something wise to do as a remediator; it is a way to create dioxins. He was alarmed that the EPA didn’t set up an extensive monitoring program to see what chemicals were released.  (EPA failed to monitor for dioxins in East Palestine: Whistleblower) In addition, whistleblower Dr. Robert Kroutil, who built the aerial chemical sensors, filed a complaint to the Inspector General about turning off chemical sensors over highly contaminated areas and during the burn as an alleged failure to monitor during key periods. The EPA also allowed Norfolk Southern to hire their own testing agents, which Pacey said is similar to “writing your own report card”.   “From improper sample handling to eliminating standard operating procedures, the deficiencies are not minor. They are fundamental failures that hide the true extent of life-threatening contamination in East Palestine,” stated Pacey.  “Despite EPA’s statutory duty to protect public health, the agency has continued to publicly assure residents that it is safe to grow and eat food from their home gardens—even after independent testing found dioxin toxic equivalency levels in garden produce far exceeding background and state cleanup benchmarks. EPA’s failure to warn has left an ongoing exposure pathway unaddressed, compounding the risk of chronic illness and cancer more than three years after the derailment.”  (New Documents Reveal Deep Flaws in Norfolk Southern’s Dioxin Soil Sampling Plan)

Looking back at the disaster at Love Canal, New York, we see the same patterns at work in East Palestine: allowing the responsible party to determine how and where to test. Some critics understandably argue that allowing the responsible party to conduct or fund testing creates perceived conflicts of interest and more serious issues.  Love Canal was a community that built a school and recreational areas over a canal in which Hooker Chemical Company had buried 21,800 tons of toxic chemicals, topping the landfill with clay before selling the site to the local school board in 1953.  The toxic waste was also dumped in an area called Hyde Park: both the Love Canal and Hyde Park areas are part of Niagara Falls, New York.  The US Senate subcommittee’s ranking member Norman Lent, a New York Republican, questioned why the New York Health Department was working with Hooker Chemical to investigate the Hyde Park landfill. He noted that, not only did the agency allow Hooker to dig the wells being analyzed, but the agency also shared samples and data with the company, despite obvious conflicts of interest. (Portraits in Oversight: Congress and the Love Canal Disaster)

Lesley Pacey also highlighted that after the explosion and fire in Roseland, Louisiana at the Smitty’s Supply facility in August 2025, EPA permitted the responsible company to oversee remediation under agency supervision, consistent with standard enforcement practices. Here is an excerpt from two local news sources: 

“Residents across Tangipahoa Parish have reported similar property damage after the Aug. 22 chemical fire at Smitty’s Supply. The incident sent smoke, soot and oily residue into the air and onto nearby homes, businesses and an elementary school. Petroleum products from the plant also spilled into area waterways, including several adjacent ponds and the Tangipahoa River. Oily materials have traveled nearly 40 miles down the waterway that leads to Lake Pontchartrain” (Smitty’s Supply neighbors still wary of fire fallout despite assurances from Landry, EPA)  Also, according to a report provided to FOX 8, investigators detected arsenic, barium, chromium, lead and other hazardous materials in two samples collected the day after the explosion, despite the EPA’s advice that “there’s no imminent threat to the public”.  “On Aug. 23, CTEH, an environmental services contractor for Smitty’s Supply Inc., collected soot samples under the oversight of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. The soot samples contained water, but the samples were not collected from the Tangipahoa River or a drinking water source,” the spokesman wrote. “The samples were analyzed by toxicologists from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana Department of Health. Based on the available data, there was no indication of any imminent threat to public health from the soot or smoke residue deposited in the surrounding area.” (Toxic substances found in Roseland after Smitty’s Supply plant explosion)

Back in East Palestine, GAP is trying to help residents get out of the community if they want to, and provide healthcare or whatever they need to recover.  They are working with Keenan Law on the Federal Consent Decree against Norfolk Southern, as well as lawsuits against the EPA.   The class-action lawsuit in East Palestine has been a disappointment to residents.  Many residents signed rights for future action against Norfolk Southern in order to receive paltry checks on the order of $7000-8000 for their suffering and medical expenses.  Lesley Pacey also discussed forming non-profits that can respond to such emergencies instead of federal agencies that some residents and advocacy groups argue have not been sufficiently transparent or responsive.

According to the EPA’s official response page, extensive air, soil, and water sampling has been conducted since the derailment. EPA has stated that results to date do not indicate levels posing an immediate public health threat, though long-term monitoring and remediation remain ongoing. The agency has also entered into a federal consent decree requiring Norfolk Southern to fund long-term cleanup, health programs, and monitoring. EPA disputes claims that monitoring was intentionally limited or concealed.

When residents of East Palestine and any other disaster area are not getting the information they need to know about their environment, they need to do what they feel is best for them and their families.  Leaning on agencies like GAP can be helpful; their website is named whistleblower.org, which tells you a bit about their purpose: to help witnesses to disasters get the truth out.  It was founded in 1977 “in the wake of Daniel Ellsberg's landmark release of the Pentagon Papers. After Ellsberg received fierce retaliation from the Nixon administration, it was clear something needed to be done to not only protect brave truth-tellers from government and corporate smear campaigns, but to combat rampant disinformation being foisted on the public by special interests.”  (Our Story)  They even have a “whistleblower survival tips” page, and just reading it gives one the chills.  Whistleblowers should be prepared for retaliation by making sure their family is all in, getting legal help before blowing the whistle, and having a plan, among other things.  Yes, in 2026 in the age of information technology, it can still be dangerous to tell the truth, just as it is to live in its questionable absence.

So what do you think? In difficult situations like this, what could advocacy groups do better to ensure their claims are accurate, measured, and constructive? What could government agencies do better to communicate clearly, act transparently, take significant steps to protect citizens, and earn the public’s trust when communities are frightened and real lives are at stake? Environmental disasters are never simple, and the tension between caution, urgency, and accountability can create more conflict instead of clarity. Perhaps the deeper question is not only who is right or wrong, but how institutions and citizens alike can respond in better ways that protect both health and trust when the stakes are this high.

For readers concerned about protecting their own homes and families during environmental emergencies, we have also written about practical steps you can take to safeguard indoor air quality, including proper filtration, ventilation strategies, and when independent testing may be appropriate.

There’s lots to filter out of the air: What to buy to be READY for an air quality emergency — What filtration and supplies are most useful. Read more

Tight homes need ventilation, but what do I do when it’s smokey outside? — Tips for managing ventilation and filters during air quality events. Read more

Photo by Craig Marolf on Unsplash