WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressmen Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., and Mike Carey, R-Ohio, called for "a hearing and swift committee review" of the East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act of 2024 in a letter to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, DeLuzio's office reported this week.
The East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act (H.R. 8537) would authorize funding over the span of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to carry out a long-term health study in the wake of last year's Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release.
In the 17 months since the derailment, some area residents have reported a long list of medical symptoms they attribute to the chemicals spilled and the vent and burn of vinyl chloride. Among the reported symptoms are persistent nosebleeds, chemical bronchitis, skin rashes, nausea, fatigue and seizures. Residents in the impacted communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania have repeatedly asked for health monitoring to track the link between the symptoms and the derailment.
The letter was sent to Committee Chairman and Ranking Member Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.
"The residents of Darlington, Pennsylvania; East Palestine, Ohio; and the surrounding areas need to understand the long-term impacts of this disaster on their health, and the East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act will help achieve this," the letter read. "To ensure the assessment is a success, we support the Department of Health and Human Services technical assistance to the legislation to allow for appropriate time and resources to fully understand the impact of the spill to the surrounding community's public health."
Last month, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions marked up and advanced the bill's bipartisan Senate companion legislation by a vote of 19-2. The Senate bill is led by Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; John Fetterman, D-Pa..; and J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.
H.R. 8537 would require Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to award a grant, contract or cooperative agreement to a group of public or private higher education institutions to conduct a study on the human health impacts as a consequence of the derailment and subsequent venting and burning of liquid chemicals. The secretary is directed to give local institutions' applications additional consideration for receiving funds.
The Biden administration has already ordered such studies through the National Institute of Health. President Joe Biden announced a series of NIH grants to track health impacts related to the derailment during his visit to the village in February. Those grants were awarded to Texas A&M ; the University of California, San Diego; University of Kentucky; Case Western Reserve University; and the University of Pittsburgh.
Still federal lawmakers insist more steps should be taken. On March 14, Brown had an exchange with Becerra during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, asking for a registry for both Ohio and Pennsylvania residents as well as continued support to address derailment-related health concerns.
During Brown's visit to the village on March 11, Brown said he saw "a lot of rashes and burns" that were attributed to the derailment and subsequent vent and burn of vinyl chloride from five damaged tank cars.