Jakarta –
For John and Lisa Hamner, residents of East Palestine in Ohio, their life jolted and seemed to stop at 8:55 pm on February 3.
That was the day the poison-laden train derailed just meters from their thriving dump truck business. They started this business with five customers, and in 18 years, they now have 7,000 customers around Ohio City.
“This incident has completely destroyed our lives,” John told the BBC, his voice choked with tears. We stood in the parking lot of his business, where the smell of chemicals and sulfur from the derailed train was still overpowering.
“I got to a point where I wanted to leave here,” he added. “We have to move. We can’t take it anymore.”
After the train overturned, emergency crews had to carry out a controlled release of the chemical vinyl chloride from five cars at risk of explosion.
John’s eyes were red and swollen, which, according to him, was the physical aftermath of the chemical spill in East Palestine.
But John and his wife told the BBC that the deepest wounds they suffered were invisible and psychological.
“I can’t sleep. So far I’ve been to the doctor twice, and I’m taking medication for anxiety disorders,” he said.
“It’s 10 times worse than just losing our source of income. We built this business.”
John and Lisa Hamners lost their dump truck business in this train accident. (BBC)
Just like her husband, Lisa Hamner also admitted that she could not sleep at night because she thought about their business, the company’s 10 employees, and the city where she has lived for the past 20 years.
Some of their loyal customers have now canceled their garbage collection service and say they plan to leave East Palestine.
“I feel afraid for the people who live here,” he said. “Everyone can’t sleep because the impact of this incident is everywhere. It’s on your work, your health and the health of your friends.”
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Standing on a mound of dirt looking down at some of the train cars that were blown apart from the crash, John said the incident was like Chernobyl, the April 1986 nuclear accident in former Soviet Ukraine.
John is not alone. During their two days in East Palestine, several other residents told the BBC they saw the train crash as a turning point in their city’s history. At least for the foreseeable future, their lives will be separated by what happened before the February 3 disaster, and what happened after.
Federal and local officials have been advising residents to drink bottled water. Authorities say residents were able to return safely to the city days after the accident occurred, although environmental activists doubt this.
Exposure to the chemicals released in the crash – including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate – can cause a variety of symptoms and ailments, from nausea to cancer.
“To this city, it’s Pearl Harbor, or 9/11. One of those events that people will always talk about,” said coffee shop owner Ben Ratner.
In her case, she said the stress and trauma had left her feeling “a jumble” of emotions and sensations.
He now always flinched when he heard the sound of a train passing by – which used to be a normal routine. Now the sound of the trains seems to be louder and rougher than before, he added.
Ben also said that his friends in East Palestine City now panic more easily and are always on edge, a feeling he says is similar to post-traumatic stress.
“We have to start being aware of the long-term emotional and psychological impact,” he said.
“People worry when they hear the sound of trains, or when they think of children playing outside, or taking their dog outside and accidentally drinking contaminated water… this is serious.”
Ben Ratner uses mineral water to wash the dishes. (BBC)
Ben Ratner added, children – after many years of the Covid-19 pandemic – must now once again be faced with traumatic events that disrupt their lives.
“This could go on for generations,” he said. “It’s so much bigger than just gas and big clouds and clumps of chemicals.”
The chemicals released in accidents and the fires that follow them can have serious health implications, Keeve Nachman, professor of environmental health at Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, tells the BBC.
“There is no information about whether people can be exposed to these chemicals from the air, drinking water or through the soil.”
Distrust of government
On Thursday, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Michael Regan visited East Palestine to see the recovery process, meet local officials and reassure residents that the government is on their side.
“We see you, we hear you, and we understand there is an emergency,” he said.
The agency said it had detected no harmful levels of the airborne contaminant and had tested the air quality in hundreds of homes.
Two Ohio Senators – JD Vance and Sherrod Brown – have also expressed their support for the community, while Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has sought assistance from federal authorities.
The water company had known that the waterways from the Ohio River were contaminated, but they said the drinking water had not been affected.
In a letter, Alan Shaw, CEO of Norfolk Southern – the operator of the derailed train – said he realized that residents were tired, worried and had “questions without answers”.
But the company’s decision not to hold a question-and-answer session with residents on Wednesday, citing security concerns, has angered residents even more.
Some residents believe there is little the authorities can say to dispel the distrust and anger that still surrounds the city.
Some even said they did not receive any information from the inspectorate or any officials for up to two weeks after the crash.
“Nobody came here and questioned us. Nobody checked anything. Nothing at all,” said Kim Hancock, who lives about a mile from the scene.
“How can they say everything is peaceful? It’s impossible,” he said.
“I’m not stupid. I saw the plumes of smoke reach my house.”
Video produced and edited by Joyce Liu
(it/it)
