Research office opens on anniversary of 2023 East Palestine train derailment

A research office focused on the health effects of a 2023 train derailment that resulted in a hazardous chemical spill in East Palestine opened on Tuesday.

Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the office opened during a ceremony on the anniversary of the derailment, 90.5 WESA reported.

“For three years, families here have been forced to fight just to be believed,” Misti Allison, an East Palestine resident and leader of the community advisory board, told the outlet. “This office means our community finally has a place where science, health care, and our lived experiences come together.”

The office will conduct an investigation into the health implications of the spill over the next five years, according to the National Institute of Health press release.

“NIH’s research hub offers the people of East Palestine a pathway to clear answers about their health they deserve,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a release. “Everyone affected by this environmental disaster deserves access to independent, gold-standard science that puts their well-being first.”

The NIH previously announced that it would spend $10 million to investigate the long-term health impacts of the spill.

The spill followed the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train. It caused 38 railcars carrying hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol and benzene residue, to release their contents. Emergency responders responded to the chemical spill caused by the derailment by conducting prolonged controlled burns, which resulted in several railcars burning for more than two days.

Current U.S. Senate candidate and then senator Sherrod Brown drew criticism for leaving the state while his constituents dealt with the aftermath of the derailment.

Brown left the state to attend a fundraiser in Hollywood, California, while cleanup from the derailment was still underway, according to a February 2023 report from Fox News.

The mishap has turned into a political hot potato. Then-former President Donald Trump visited weeks after the derailment, and then-President Joe Biden visited East Palestine on February 16, 2024, more than a year after the derailment.

In a statement, RNC Spokeswoman Delanie Bomar blamed Democrats for failing Ohioans during cleanup efforts following the derailment.

“Sherrod Brown and national Democrats have utterly failed Ohioans over and over again,” Bomar said. “When tragedy strikes, Ohio families know that Democrats don’t have their backs.”

U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, has stated that multiple members of former President Joe Biden’s administration lied to the public about the dangers posed by chemicals released during the derailment and controlled burns.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that FEMA and the White House officials discussed the health risks posed by the incident, including increased cancer risks, but did not release their reports to the public, News Nation reported in May 2025.

This week, Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes announced the introduction of the Railroad Safety and Accountability Act. The measure aims to codify the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee, which the liberal lawmaker said would codify labor and public-interest representation in safety decision-making.

However, in January, the Federal Railroad Administration announced it would reform the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee. Then-Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance previously championed railroad safety legislation, but it did not pass.