On a crisp September morning last fall, Jess Conard watched as her back yard was tested for toxic chemicals.

The results confirmed her fear. A detectable amount of vinyl chloride, a chemical used to make PVC plastic, was still present nearly two years after a headline-making train derailment released the chemical into East Palestine, Ohio.  

“When you’re still detecting toxic chemicals in your yard, how do you just move on?” asks Conard. After the derailment upended her small town in 2023, Conard left her job as a speech therapist to advocate full time with the group Beyond Plastics. 

In the days after the crash, officials released and burned vinyl chloride from five derailed tank cars. The move was later deemed unnecessary and likely harmful.   

“If you burn vinyl chloride, you produce all kinds of poisonous gases, including phosgene, which is very toxic,” says Maria Doa, a chemicals expert at Environmental Defense Fund. 

As the train company, Norfolk Southern, continues to clean up the accident site two years later, the community faces a web of interconnected challenges — but the overarching one is anxiety about the long-term effects of vinyl chloride exposure on their health.   

“We’re facing impossible choices,” Conard says. “Do we stay in homes we love but don’t fully trust are safe?” 

Two years in and more needs to be done 

February 3 marks two years since the derailment upended the lives of East Palestine’s 4,700 residents, and the divide between what East Palestine needs and what it is receiving grows starker with each passing month.  

Legislation meant to prevent another accident of this kind — the Railway Safety Act — hasn’t gotten through Congress. And lifetime healthcare coverage through Medicare hasn’t been offered to the residents of East Palestine, despite being granted to other communities impacted by environmental disasters.  

Although Vice President JD Vance and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited East Palestine on the derailment's second anniversary, funding uncertainty and efforts to shrink the federal workforce under the Trump administration have severely disrupted the agencies responsible for managing environmental disasters.

Then there is the litigation. 

Residents near the crash site can receive $25,000 for injuries from Norfolk Southern as a part of a settlement agreement. But the money comes with a caveat — no further financial compensation will be provided should a family member become sick years from now. Vinyl chloride exposure is linked to dizziness and respiratory issues in the short-term, and liver damage and cancer in the long-term, leaving families with an agonizing choice. 

Misti Allison’s son was in second grade and her daughter was just a year old when the crash occurred. Her family has opted not to take the money out of fears for their long-term health. As a member of Moms Clean Air Force, Allison has lobbied both state and federal lawmakers to better monitor and care for the health of people living in the town. 

“A lot of people are really scared,” Allison says. “You’d like to believe that everything is going to be ok. But there are some people in the area who do still have symptoms, so there’s an undercurrent of unease and fear of unknown.”