CONTACT: Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org
(917) 887-0146
WHAT: On Thursday, March 9 at 10 AM ET, impacted parents from East Palestine, Ohio, Southwest Pennsylvania, and elsewhere will join Moms Clean Air Force organizers in Washington, DC, at the US Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works (EPW) hearing on the environmental and public health threats facing the East Palestine community in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical release.
WHO: East Palestine residents and Moms who have been impacted by chemical pollution are set to attend the hearing in-person will be available for interviews. They include:
- 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. She currently works from home as a software marketer. Misti holds a Master of Public Health and Bachelor of Health Science, and previously worked at the American Cancer Society and Cleveland Clinic. She is a Moms Clean Air Force member.
- Jessica Conard is a resident of East Palestine, OH and a mother of three boys ages 3, 9, and 10. She is a licensed speech language pathologist who has worked in the medical field for nearly 15 years and currently works full time in post acute care. Jessica is passionate about human rights, self care, and her family. She is a Moms Clean Air Force member.
- Erin Stauffer is a resident of East Palestine, OH, and the mother of a 7-year-old. She moved to East Palestine in 2011 after meeting her husband, who was born and raised in the town. Erin works at the Columbiana County Juvenile Court to recruit and train court appointed special advocates for abused and neglected children. She is a Moms Clean Air Force member.
- Rachel Meyer, the Moms Ohio River Valley organizer, lives about 20 miles from the site of the chemical 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 several times.
- Vanessa Lynch lives in Southwestern Pennsylvania, about 50 miles away from the East Palestine chemical disaster and is on the front lines of the oil and gas industry. Living so close to this industrial pollution puts her family at greater risk for asthma, central nervous system toxicity, and cancer.
- Roishetta Ozane, one of our Louisiana Field organizers and a noted environmental justice advocate, lives in the Lake Charles area, which is a hub for petrochemical and petroleum manufacturing. Living in the shadow of industry, Roishetta and her six children have been heavily impacted by pollution and toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride—one of the chemicals that was released in East Palestine.
- Trisha Dello Iacono, our former Senior Legislative Manager, is a mother of four living in New Jersey. Her family was exposed to vinyl chloride when a similar train accident occurred near their home. Trisha’s son, now 12, still lives with the lingering health impacts of that exposure.
- Lucia Valentine, our West Virginia organizer, works on building support for a clean energy future that puts the needs of workers front and center. Lucia can speak to the challenges and benefits of protecting families from polluting industries while also ensuring economic security for workers whose livelihoods have historically depended on them.
WHEN: Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 10:00 AM ET
WHERE: The hearing will take place at the 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Live video of the hearing and witness testimony will be available on the committee’s website.
RESOURCES: