EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — We heard it then, and we hear it now in East Palestine — "Is my water safe?" Many people still don’t trust the water one year after the toxic train derailment from the tap to the private wells and the creeks.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
Last Feb. 3, fear and distrust also settled over the village.
It's now a new year and a new season for the village and Linda Murphy.
She knew winter would be a struggle. She says she doesn’t drink her well water, but her horses now do.
Winter brought an end to months of trucking in tanks of water for their horses.
“There’s nothing we can do to store enough water in these frigid temperatures. There’s just no other option," Murphy said.
News 5 Investigators first met the Murphys four days after the toxic train derailment. Then, she called for ongoing testing.
"This could be long-term for years and years,” Murphy said.
Murphy’s fear mirrored what others felt closer to the derailment site.
Last March, our first-ever community survey showed 70% of people didn’t think the water was safe.
Governor Mike DeWine said the city water system showed no contaminants and drank from the tap.
However, the Ohio EPA recommended people with wells test their water.
"We moved here to retire and be safe. That didn't happen, did it?” one man said.
The Murphys live about three miles from where the toxic cargo left the tracks and up the road from one creek where she found dead fish.
She says every so often, she gets a whiff of an odd odor.
“This odor, this smell is exactly what I smell — packaging tape,” Murphy said.
“I don’t think we’re being told the truth on the amount of the contamination or the long-term effects it’s going to have on us,” Murphy said.
A year later, Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel says they’re finding lube oil in the creeks, not vinyl chloride.
Five tankers carried the hazardous chemical; another two spilled oil.
Incident command decided to breach the cars and burn the toxins to avoid a catastrophic explosion.
“We don’t see any chemical of concern that is at such levels there would be a human health risk in the creeks,” Vogel said.
The Ohio EPA created a network of monitoring wells.
Vogel says they’ll know if contamination is leaching into groundwater.
“I want everybody to feel safe with their drinking water across the board,” Vogel said.
But Murphy isn’t convinced through well testing her water is safe.
"I just feel that these chemicals, some of them will make their way eventually, and is it going to make its way to us,” Murphy said.
She doesn’t want to sell, but she’s given heavy consideration to uprooting from a life there for more than two decades.
“I’m losing security, I’m losing happiness, I’m losing patience,” Murphy said. The Ohio EPA says this will not be a long-term contaminated town.
Vogel said they know exactly what was spilled, what quantities, and how to clean it up.
They’ll continue to monitor drinking water and the wells installed around the tracks.
