Toxic-Free Future supports community request for the White House to issue an emergency declaration to safeguard residents
SEATTLE, WA—Today, to mark the second anniversary of the vinyl chloride train disaster in East Palestine, OH, Vice President JD Vance, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and members of Congress visited the community. Toxic-Free Future continues to support the local community’s requests for a federal emergency declaration and issued the following statement in response to today’s visit:
“The residents of East Palestine and nearby communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania deserve action after two years of waiting. The people who have been impacted by this tragedy deserve better,” said Mike Schade, director of Mind the Store for Toxic-Free Future. “Local families and businesses have been asking for help from the White House so they can recover from health impacts and environmental damage, and to rebuild their communities. Vice President Vance and EPA Administrator Zeldin now have the opportunity to deliver the results that will end the suffering. Toxic-Free Future’s research has shown that East Palestine is just one of the many communities across the country, from Texas to New Jersey, in the path of these toxic trains every day. We must take action now to prevent future chemical catastrophes from happening.”
Additional resources on the Ohio Train Derailment and vinyl chloride:
- Coalition letter to President Biden requesting an emergency declaration
- Report: Toxic Cargo: How rail transport of vinyl chloride puts millions at risk, an analysis one year after the Ohio train derailment
- Report: Vinyl chloride: The poison that makes the plastic
- Report: PVC Poison Plastic: An investigation following the Ohio train derailment of widespread vinyl chloride pollution caused by PVC production
- What is PVC and vinyl chloride?
TOXIC-FREE FUTURE
Toxic-Free Future is a national leader in environmental health research and advocacy. Through the power of science, education, and activism, Toxic-Free Future drives strong laws and corporate responsibility that protects the health of all people and the planet. www.toxicfreefuture.org
###
MEDIA CONTACT
Stephanie Stohler