A year on, a small Ohio town is recovering from a fiery train derailment but health fears persist

By JOSH FUNK and PATRICK ORSAGOS
Associated Press

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Daily life largely returned to normal for the nearly 5,000 residents of East Palestine, Ohio, months after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and spilled a cocktail of hazardous chemicals that caught fire a year ago. But residents’ worries and fears are always there. Some people in town report respiratory problems or headaches. At least several dozen haven’t ever returned to their homes because of concerns about the chemicals. But others in East Palestine say they believe authorities’ findings that their air and water is safe and that they’re ready to take advantage of all the money being invested in the area. They don’t want the derailment to define their town.