A peer-reviewed pilot study led by the University of Kentucky has found that some East Palestine residents showed signs their immune systems were still fighting toxic chemical exposure six months after a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed and burned in the small Ohio town in February 2023.
Compared with a control group, East Palestine residents who lived near the site showed higher numbers of red blood cells, higher hemoglobin levels, chronic inflammation, and an increase in cells that attack and remove foreign chemicals, according to the study. Residents also showed higher levels of proteins that repair tissue damage and lower numbers of cells that fight infection — patterns the researchers said are consistent with the body responding to toxic chemical exposure.
“The bodies of those who lived in close proximity to the site were still fighting and repairing from a toxic exposure,” Erin Haynes, a University of Kentucky researcher and co-author of the study, told the Guardian.
Jessica Boersma, a chiropractor and East Palestine City Council member who lives less than a quarter mile from the derailment site, said she spent significant time at the site coordinating with first responders. She told the Guardian she suffered from gall bladder pain, irregular menstrual cycles, elevated cortisol levels and an itchy throat and nose in the six months after the wreck. Boersma said some of her patients reported similar symptoms.
The study’s authors stressed the findings “do not prove that the train derailment caused the observed changes or that any individual has an illness or will develop future health problems.” The researchers said they plan to check a larger group of residents and first responders. The pilot study is part of a broader University of Kentucky effort to track long-term health problems in East Palestine residents.
Dozens of cars on the Norfolk Southern train derailed and burned in February 2023 near the town of 4,700. Two days later, fearing a “major explosion,” officials conducted a controlled burn of tankers carrying vinyl chloride. The chemical release emitted dioxins at levels up to 14 times higher than what U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists had found to be safe, and volatile organic compounds such as vinyl chloride were also released. Residents reported headaches, rashes, respiratory problems and hormonal disruptions.
Not all residents in the study showed immune changes. Ron and Peggy Caratelli, who live about eight-tenths of a mile from the wreck site, evacuated when orders were issued and stayed away for about a month. Peggy Caratelli told the Guardian their blood showed no markers of immune system impacts. “There was an overwhelming smell and we could taste it, it made our eyes burn, and we could feel it in our lungs,” she said, adding that she did not want to blame their health problems on the wreck but hoped the studies would shed light on the community’s effects.