The East Palestine Train Derailment Health Research Program

About This Grant

The 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, triggered a major environmental disaster involving fires, chemical spills, and a controlled burn that released numerous toxic and carcinogenic compounds into the air, water, and soil. Although extensive environmental monitoring has been conducted, our conversations with residents revealed significant gaps in the lack of: integration, accessibility, and interpretability of existing data; alignment with community priorities; information on exposure mixtures; findings on short- and long-term health impacts, especially for children; and trust. Some stakeholders expressed deep concern about persistent and worsening health symptoms and future risks, whereas others described acute symptoms that had subsided, and others expressed a desire for closure. These varied experiences underscore the urgent need for a comprehensive scientific investigation grounded in community priorities and conducted through robust academic-community partnerships. One key concern expressed by residents is the lack of information on water quality across space and time in relation to the derailment. The East Palestine Train Derailment Health Research Program: Yale University Study will contribute to overall efforts to study the health impacts of the derailment, with a focus on providing critical information on the likelihood of exposure to contaminated water. We aim to address the gap in information on water pollution through state-of-the-science hydrological modeling. This work will be grounded in community priorities with involvement from community partners to ensure that the research best meets their needs. Further, the resources generated from this work will be made available for stakeholders including the general public, decision makers, and other researchers. Our Specific Aims for Year 1, which would complete Phase I of project are to Aim 1) Conduct a water-focused community health needs assessment to identify priorities and concerns specifically on water quality issues related to the derailment, Aim 2) Perform data acquisition and integration for model inputs and model calibration and training data, and Aim 3) Initiate construction of hydrological model. These aims will provide inputs to later Phases of the Project. Overall, the Project will produce a robust body of scientific evidence, data infrastructure and resources, and meaningful community partnerships to address stakeholder concerns regarding the water quality impacts of the train derailment with spatiotemporal hydrological modeling. Ultimately, this study aims not only to understand what happened in East Palestine, but to help ensure that future communities are better protected, informed, and equipped to recover.