The controlled release of toxic chemicals shrouded the town in thick plumes of black smoke. While evacuated residents were told it was safe to return home shortly after, dead animals and mounting reports of sick residents reporting headaches and other suspicious symptoms have locals fearing the worst isn't over.
"They haven’t really told me anything useful. And when they did tell us, we were already given the okay to go home, so there is people already home, and then they released [a list of] all of the chemicals that were also within in that wreck," East Palestine resident Nathan Velez, told "Jesse Watters Primetime" Monday night.
This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Velez, who lives and works at his engine repair shop near the Ohio River, said he has suddenly come down with persisting headaches caused by what he described as a foul smell in the air.
"I came today where we are right now at my shop – this is the first time I have been here in a week. And I was here 5 minutes and I have a headache right now and you can smell it," he told Fox News host Jesse Watters. "Anyone who comes here who hasn’t been here can smell it. Your cameraman smelled it. It gives you a headache. He will probably have one."
The Environmental Protection Agency said that tests have not "detected any levels of concern in the community that can be attributed to the incident at this time." However, Velez, the father of a 9-year-old son and 1-and-a-half-year-old daughter, said his experience and that of so many others on the ground tell a very different story about the environmental impact.
BIDEN ADMIN INSISTS OHIO AIR IS SAFE AFTER CHEMICAL EXPLOSION SPARKS FEARS
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk and Southern Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) (The Associated Press)
"My house is just across the tracks….and it smells, too. You can’t spend a lot of time here without feeling like crap," he said. "And my question is why, if it’s okay if it’s safe, and all these people say it’s safe, if it’s so safe and okay then why does it hurt?"
Velez moved his family to an Airbnb in Canfield as investigators in hazmat suits continue to assess the environmental damage near his home and the degree of human exposure.
"We have been staying at Airbnb in Canfield….everything is confusing. Everything is pure chaos right now," he said.
People living near the site of an Ohio train derailment that resulted in the controlled release of toxic chemicals fear returning home. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
According to Cancer.gov, Vinyl chloride, commonly used to make pipes, wire coating and packaging, is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, hepatic angiosarcoma, along with primary liver cancer, brain and lung cancers, lymphoma, and leukemia.
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, said earlier Monday that he's "horrified" by the troubling reports he's hearing from residents, and encouraged anyone with "credible reports of environmental harms" to contact his office.
"This is a complex environmental disaster with impacts that may be difficult to assess in the short term," Vance said. "Long-term study will be imperative."
Fox News' Paul Best contributed to this report.