According to reports, seven out of 15 workers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fell ill while researching the potential health impacts of the train derailment in early March in East Palestine, Ohio.
The train, which derailed in early February, was carrying hazardous material that exploded after the derailment, causing an ecological disaster.
Over half of the US government investigative team reported symptoms that included sore throats, mild headaches, coughing and nausea — much like the symptoms that East Palestine locals reported after Feb. 3 derailment.
NEW — Nearly 50% of CDC Workers Assessing Assessing Conditions in East Palestine Got Sick
“7 people on the 15 person team reported…similar symptoms to what residents complained of” pic.twitter.com/ASYJJWeudc
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) April 4, 2023
“Symptoms resolved for most team members later the same afternoon, and everyone resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours,” said a CDC rep.
New York Post reports:
Investigators who experienced symptoms were part of a group conducting surveys house to house in a neighborhood near the derailment.
…
All team members resumed data collection within 24 hours, and “impacted team members have not reported ongoing health effects,” the CDC added.
An official familiar with the workers’ illnesses told CNN that while it’s unclear what caused their symptoms, members of the team found it suspicious they became ill at the same time with the same symptoms.
Their mysterious illnesses come as government officials and representatives from Norfolk Southern, the company that operated the train, insist that the air and water in the small Ohio town were not compromised by the toxic spill.
So as the CDC and officials continue to tell residents, and all those down stream of the Ohio River, that the water, soil, and air are perfectly safe, they are falling ill just from investigating the spill.
People should be extremely concerned and outraged on the lack of information and the dismissal they have received from the very organizations who are *supposed* to help keep them safe.
As Robert F. Kennedy Jr tweeted, “Nearly half of CDC workers doing door-to-door surveys in East Palestine got sick with similar symptoms residents reported after the toxic train derailment even though government officials and representatives from Norfolk Southern declared everything safe. “
Nearly half of CDC workers doing door-to-door surveys in East Palestine got sick with similar symptoms residents reported after the toxic train derailment even though government officials and representatives from Norfolk Southern declared everything safe.…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 3, 2023
News of the strange sickness impacting CDC workers comes after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railway Company on Thursday.
Court documents show the civil suit filed on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency is seeking damages for alleged violations to the Clean Water Act.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conway also took a moment to blast President Joe Biden for his visit to Ukraine, rather than to the scene of the toxic derailment. He declared that it was “the biggest slap in the face.”
