EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — As cleanup and testing continue in East Palestine, its residents are left with questions about the future — the future of their community, the future of their health. Senator On Monday, Sherrod Brown heard from folks like Oda Sponsel, who said her doctor can’t run tests on her without a specific code that she can’t manage to get from anybody.
“Let’s get the codes out that we need to give to our primary care physicians so that we can have the testings done,” Sponsel told News 5. “I’m frustrated enough, I’m emotional enough, my anxiety is sky high. I don’t need this on top of everything else.”
Health is the top priority for Aaron Bragg as well, who lives just outside town but owns a rental property in East Palestine. When asked what this all means to the property’s value, Bragg said, “I wrote it off. You know the property is gone. Monetary things can be made up, but the health and well-being of the resident that’s staying in there, that can’t be, so that is my concern.”
The meeting took place at the 1820 Candle Company on North Market Street where owner Melissa Smith has been doing business for 14 years. Online, she’s seen support for her products from across the country, “but our foot traffic would be what our big concern is,” Smith said. “We’ve discussed this with several other community business owners and some of them are seeing people that are a little afraid of coming to our town.”
"After the media leaves and after all the attention dies down, what's the future for us?” she asked.
The actual meeting was closed to the media to allow for a frank discussion, Brown told News 5's John Kosich that indeed was frank at times.
“There was some impatience in that room but there was also a recognition that it was going to take a while, and it’s not going to be easy, frankly, to get Norfolk Southern to fully live up to its commitments and its responsibilities.”
Norfolk Southern, for its part, has vowed to be there for the cleanup and for the people of East Palestine now and in the future. And to that end, Brown said the EPA has told Norfolk Southern that starting today, if it refuses to do what it said it would do, the EPA will step in and do the work and charge the railroad triple the cost.
“The thing I heard repeatedly was we just want our town back,” Brown said. “They want their community back, they want to see Norfolk Southern take care of what it’s promised.”
He also stressed residents to keep their receipts.
“Whether they are testing their well or their hotel rooms or the cleanup, that everyone keeps their receipts and I will make sure that Norfolk Southern is accountable,” said Brown.
