Environmental experts Tammy Clark and Kristen Meghan lamented the fact that the people of East Palestine, Ohio are now living in a toxic waste dump.
They shared this assessment with Zelenko Freedom Foundation (ZFF) Co-Chair Ann Vandersteel during the March 1 episode of "The Zelenko Report" on Brighteon.TV. According to the program host, the East Palestine train derailment and chemical spill has become a catastrophe.
In response to Vandersteel's question about the current disposition of the East Palestine residents, Clark – an environmental health and safety professional – said it was worse than they thought when they visited ground zero. Within 10 minutes of being in the town, both she and Meghan had a metallic taste in their mouths. Their tongues also started feeling numb.
Meghan, an industrial hygienist and activist, also noted that they should not be experiencing numb tongues and metallic tastes since it was more than three weeks after the Feb. 3 accidents. She added that the rain would have brought many of the contaminants out of the air down to the ground.
Vandersteel remarked that there were different chemicals on the Norfolk Southern train cars that spilled. Meghan attested to this, adding that the said chemicals were volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as isobutylene and vinyl chloride. The controlled burn done by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) turned these VOCs into other chemicals such as formaldehyde, phosgene and acrolein. (Related: Scientific report shows that East Palestine air has “higher than normal” concentrations of NINE toxic chemicals.)
Clark, meanwhile, warned that the combination of these chemicals target the liver and gastrointestinal tract. These also cause cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.
"[The residents were] exposed to the acute amount of exposure, which is a hazard in and of itself. Now they are being exposed over the long term, because they are living basically in a toxic waste dump in their homes," she stressed. "Their homes need to be professionally decontaminated, all businesses and homes there – and until that is done, this should be completely an uninhabitable area,"
Clark and Meghan also saw evidence of improper cleanup
Clark told Vandersteel that there was evidence of improper cleanup at the spill site, based on observations by their colleagues and others who were there.
She explained: "We knew there was something going on, and we did discover why that was happening just a few minutes later. We realized the improper cleanup. What they are trying to do to remediate at this stage is actually re-aerosolizing and poisoning the air and poisoning the citizens by the cleanup methods that they were doing improperly."
According to Meghan, a cleanup team was cycling the water, bubbling and aerating it before reintroducing it back into the stream. The said cleanup team was trying to get the contaminants to the surface and out of the sediment in order to collect it.
However, she pointed out that the team were simply blowing the chemicals back, creating an aerosol and vapor into the breathing zone. The material they were using to collect the spilled chemicals was not the appropriate type for the contaminant, she added.
Ultimately, Meghan said any attempt to try to remediate or clean up must be done with the people evacuated.
Follow Disaster.news for more news about the East Palestine toxic train accident.
Watch the March 1 episode of "The Zelenko Report" below. "The Zelenko Report" with Ann Vandersteel airs every Monday to Friday at 1-2 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.
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