STORY: Huge crowds attended a town hall meeting in the city of East Palestine, Ohio. Almost two weeks after a train carrying highly hazardous chemicals derailed and caught fire here, people in the small town still have no idea about their health and the impact on the environment. According to experts, the danger emanating from the leaked toxins for local residents is still largely unknown. Many people here complain of headaches and irritated eyes. Chickens, fish and other wild animals have died after the accident. Nevertheless, the state health authorities had assured that East Palestine was a safe place and that the tap water was safe. Environmentalists doubted that. The train, with three locomotives and 150 boxcars, was en route from Illinois to Pennsylvania when it derailed. According to authorities, 20 of the wagons were loaded with dangerous goods, including 10 that derailed. Clean-up teams removed the earth around three hundred meters from the scene of the accident. He had been soaked in chemicals when authorities blew up five train cars carrying the highly flammable vinyl chloride on Monday last week. This should avoid an explosion. However, the blast released highly dangerous gases.
