CONTACT: Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org
(917) 887-0146
On February 3, 2023, a 150-car train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Large quantities of toxic chemicals were released into the community, including carcinogenic vinyl chloride. Over 115,000 gallons of vinyl chloride were burned in the days that followed, which led to the formation and release of dioxins–some of the most toxic chemicals on the planet.
This is not an isolated incident–in 2023, there were at least 322 hazardous chemical incidents in the U.S. alone. Eighty-three of those incidents occurred at plastic and petrochemical manufacturing sites. Black, Latino, and low-income people face a disproportionate risk since chemical facilities are predominantly located in these communities.
As the one-year anniversary of the East Palestine chemical disaster approaches, several Moms who live near the site are available for interview:
- Misti Allison is a resident of East Palestine, OH, and a mother of two. She and her family live 1.2 miles away from the site of the derailment. The impact that this disaster had on her family inspired her run for mayor last year, as covered by The 19th. She currently works from home as a software marketer, holds a Master of Public Health and Bachelor of Health Science, and previously worked at the American Cancer Society and Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about Misti, read her testimony from the Senate train derailment hearing last March or her op-ed in The Hill.
- Rachel Meyer, the Moms’ Ohio River Valley organizer, lives about 20 miles from the site of the petrochemical disaster in East Palestine. Rachel’s home is also located a short distance from the Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA, which spews large quantities of toxic pollution into the surrounding community. Despite only having come online in the fall of 2022, the plant has already exceeded its annual pollution allowances.
- Hilary Flint lives four miles from the East Palestine train derailment site in Enon Valley, Pennsylvania. As a cancer survivor and affected resident, Hilary remains deeply concerned about her own compromised health and symptoms in the wake of the derailment—and the health of future generations in the area. She is a Moms Clean Air Force member, Vice President of Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment, and Director of Communications and Community Engagement for Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community.
RESOURCES:
- Statement: Moms speak out about Ohio train derailment, calling on EPA and government to protect communities from petrochemical pollution
- Fact Sheet: Petrochemical Pollution and Our Health
- Fact Sheet: Vinyl Chloride 101
- Blog Post: Ohio Train Derailment Highlights Toxic Plastic Pollution
- Blog Post: EPA Takes First Step Toward Banning Cancer-Causing Vinyl Chloride