Here are the symptoms East Palestine residents reported experiencing in wake of derailment

Monroe Trombly, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
10
The East Palestine High School mascot, the bulldog, is painted on the front of the East Palestine city garage. Tucked in next to another garage is the Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 bus. A Feb. 3 train derailment has had toxic ramifications for the Columbiana County community. Attorneys Tom Bevan, Mikal Watts and Alicia O'Neill also attended.

Those who live in and around the small Ohio village of East Palestine have experienced headaches, coughs, fatigue, and irritation, pain or burning of their skin since last month's train derailment and subsequent burn-off of toxic chemicals.

Those are the findings of a survey carried out by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The results were released Friday.

The "After Chemical Exposure (ACE) Community" survey, as it's being called by the ODH, was completed by 168 people who in the last two weeks have either gone to the state's health assessment clinic or have been visited at home by federal officials.

Nearly three quarters, or 74%, of participants said they had experienced headaches since the derailment. Six in ten reported coughing, and just over half said they had experienced irritation, pain or burning of their skin.

The median age of those surveyed was 57 and nearly all are older than 18.

On Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's office said officials will use the information to "better understand how the derailment incident may be impacting residents and determine appropriate public health response."

The health assessment clinic at First Church of Christ in downtown East Palestine opened Feb. 22 as a way for state and local officials to assess the health of residents and help them navigate the health care system.

A health assessment clinic has been staged at First Church of Christ in downtown East Palestine for the last two weeks.
A health assessment clinic has been staged at First Church of Christ in downtown East Palestine for the last two weeks.

In addition to completing an ACE survey, visitors to the clinic can have their vital signs taken and be evaluated by a physician, according to the ODH. Referrals are made for ongoing care if necessary and certified counselors are available.

The clinic is open not just to East Palestine residents, but to residents of Unity Township in Ohio, as well as residents of Beaver County, Pennsylvania in Zip Codes 16115, 16120 and 16141.

Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday.

Monroe Trombly covers the workplace and environmental issues for The Columbus Dispatch.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@monroetrombly

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What East Palestine residents are saying about their health