Ohio senator: East Palestine residents 'right to be skeptical' after train derailment

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on Sunday said residents in East Palestine, Ohio, are “right to be skeptical” after a disastrous train derailment leaked toxic chemicals in the air, land and water near their homes.

“Should the residents accept the assurances from the government or are they right to be skeptical?” anchor Pamela Brown asked the senator on CNN’s “State of the Union."

“Well, they’re right to be skeptical. The EPA administration when I was there, both the state and federal EPA administrators, said that. But when you return to your home, we think the water is safe, but when you return to your home, you should be tested again for your water and your soil and your air,” the senator said. 

A 150-car train derailed in East Palestine earlier this month, sparking fires at the site of the pileup and causing chemicals to leak from one of several cars noted to be carrying hazardous materials, including the cancer-causing chemical vinyl chloride.

Nearby residents were evacuated due to fears of possible explosion as officials conducted a controlled release to try and alleviate the danger, and though evacuation orders have since been lifted, toxic substances have leaked into nearby air and water, sparking environmental and health concerns.  

“Would you drink the water in East Palestine and do you think the officials there who are saying it’s safe, they should drink the water, too, to show the residents they would drink it?” Pamela Brown asked the senator on Sunday. 

“Well, I think they are. I talked to the mayor. The mayor said definitively, emphatically, people can drink the water,” he replied.

“This is really the same old story. Corporations do stock buybacks. They do big dividend checks. They lay off workers. Thousands of workers have been laid off from Norfolk Southern. Then they don’t invest in safety rules and safety regulations and this kind of thing happens,” the senator added.