EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (WKBN) – A committee will examine the health impacts and look at future research on the East Palestine train derailment.
A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop will explore the priorities for health research and monitoring after the train derailment in February 2023.
The event will include several sessions that feature community voices from East Palestine and other affected areas, including residents and local medical practitioners, reflecting on the health and environmental impacts of the derailment. Other workshop panels will bring together exposure science, public health and medical experts, as well as individuals from other communities that have experienced environmental disasters – such as the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
The two final sessions of the workshop will discuss the potential long-term impacts of the derailment on community health and how future research efforts might best involve local communities.
Speakers will include:
- Juliane Arteel-Beier, assistant professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh
- Linda Birnbaum, adjunct professor, Department of Environment Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina
- Motria Caudill, regional director, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Region 5 Office
- Jess Conard, Appalachia director, Beyond Plastics
- Keith Drabick, fire chief, East Palestine Fire Department
- Mark Durno, Homeland Security Advisor, U.S. EPA Region 5
- Harold ‘Fritz’ Nelson, pastor, First United Presbyterian Church of East Palestine
- Christa Graves, resident, Columbiana County
- Mona Hanna-Attisha, associate dean for public health, Michigan State University
- Erika Kinkead, nurse, New Brighton Area School District
- Nicholas Newman, physician, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
- Marcy Patton, executive director, Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board
- Wesley Vins, health commissioner, Columbiana County Health District
- Richard Woychik, director, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
The workshop is November 6 from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and November 7 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Click here to register.
