Mold Remediation in East Palestine, OH

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According to the release, the lawyers representing the victims, known as "class counsel", advise any class members who intend to submit an appeal should prepare their appeal to be submitted once the new deadline is established.

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio - Following an announcement that the company in charge of distributing settlement money to victims of the East Palestine train derailment was removed, it was announced on Monday that victims who had claims rejected will have more time to appeal.

Kroll Settlement Administration LLC was removed from handling distribution of funds in June of 2025.

A federal judge overseeing the East Palestine train derailment case ordered that Kroll be removed because she said she had "sufficient reason to believe" that Kroll did not properly carry out its duties in managing the settlement.

More specifically, U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson believes that Kroll did not correctly follow the "Plan of Distribution", which is like a detailed rulebook for how the settlement money should be divided.

Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions, Inc. was named as the new company to handle payments.

A news release from Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the law firms involved in the case, says that the transfer of claims administration responsibility is "well underway."

Additionally, according to the release, residents who received rejection notices after June 12, 2025 will have more time to file an appeal.

According to the release, the original June 24, 2025 deadline has been temporarily suspended.

No new deadline has been announced at this time, but the release states that class members will be notified of a new deadline in writing once it is established.

According to the release, the lawyers representing the victims, known as "class counsel", advise any class members who intend to submit an appeal should prepare their appeal to be submitted once the new deadline is established.

Epiq has a dedicated team of experienced professionals to complete the claims administration, including the review of previous rejections, according to the release.

Attorneys Jayne Conroy, Beth Graham and Seth Katz of Simmons Hanly Conroy, Grant & Eisenhofer and Burg Simpson gave a joint statement within the release, focusing on their collaboration with Epiq.

"Class Counsel has been working with the new administrators at Epiq to make sure that clarity, consistency and urgency are prioritized for residents' settlements," said the attorneys in a joint statement.

They continued," We will ensure that the Voluntary Exposure funds are delivered to the hands of the citizens in the correct amounts."

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CLEVELAND — The National Institutes of Health announced Thursday it's launching a five-year, $10 million research initiative to analyze the long-term health outcomes from the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine.

What You Need To Know

In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals — including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol and benzene residue — derailed in the small Ohio town. Officials said they were worried of one of the rail cars potentially exploding, which resulted in the controlled released of chemicals into the air of East Palestine.

Since then, local, state and federal officials have been testing the air and water in East Palestine, which was eventually deemed safe, but residents since then have issued concerns of potential health effects from the release of the hazardous chemicals.

Concerns included headaches as well as respiratory, skin and eye irritations. NIH said it prompted concern about long-term impacts on maternal and child health, as well as psychological, immunological, respiratory and cardiovascular effects.

“NIH is working to ensure that the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities are listened to, cared for, and get the answers they deserve,” NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said. “This multi-disciplinary research program will focus on public health tracking and surveillance of the community’s health conditions to support health care decisions and preventive measures.”

According to NIH, the research will focus on a few topics, including:

The grants will be issued for various types of studies and community activities, NIH said. The deadline for research proposals is July 21 and projects are expected to start this fall. More information can be found here.

“The announcement today of the funding for long-term health studies for the people of East Palestine is great news for the community,” Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, said. “This funding will enable the people of East Palestine to have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that any potential for long-term health effects will be studied by the scientists at the National Institutes of Health."

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will shell out $10 million over the next five years researching the long-term health ramifications of the 2023 train derailment that unleashed toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.

Vice President JD Vance, who was a freshman senator from the Buckeye State at the time, had pushed for more long-term research to better understand the health consequences of the spill, including on children.

“As a senator, it was incredibly frustrating watching the Biden administration refuse to examine the potentially dangerous health impacts on the people of East Palestine following the train derailment,” Vance said.

“I’m proud that we finally have a new president that takes the concerns of everyday, working-class people seriously. This historic research initiative will finally result in answers that this community deserves.”

The research will entail a multi-disciplinary series of studies that will assess the biological markers of risk on the victims of the spill, establish stronger public health tracking and surveillance in the community, and ensure “well-coordinated communications” between researchers, per an announcement.

NIH is eyeing one to three awards for the research and has given experts a deadline of July 21, 2025, to apply for funding to study the chemical spill-ravaged community.

Officials plan to deliver the $10 million funding in tranches of $2 million a year over the next five years.

“NIH is working to ensure that the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities are listened to, cared for, and get the answers they deserve,” NIH director Jay Bhattacharya explained.

“This multi-disciplinary research program will focus on public health tracking and surveillance of the community’s health conditions to support health care decisions and preventive measures.”

On Feb. 3, 2023, a 38-car Norfolk Southern freight train transporting hazardous chemicals — such as vinyl chloride, benzene residue, butyl acrylate and more — derailed, leading to those toxic chemicals igniting.

Authorities attempted to mitigate the damage through controlled burns, which led to a big explosion, and further catalyzed the release of the hazardous substances into the nearby air, soil and water, wreaking havoc on East Palestine.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stressed that “the people of East Palestine have a right to clear, science-backed answers about the impact on their health.”

Local officials roundly praised the announcement as a welcome step to help the Ohio community of about 4,700 better track and address health repercussions from the hazardous spill.

“This funding will enable the people of East Palestine to have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that any potential for long-term health effects will be studied,” Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement.

At the urging of Vice President JD Vance, the Trump administration is launching a new initiative to study the long-term health consequences for local residents in East Palestine, Ohio, after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed and spilled its contents.

The Trump administration is putting up $10 million toward a five-year initiative that will, among other things, utilize "longitudinal epidemiological research" to better understand the short- and long-term health effects of exposure to hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol and benzene residue.

The initiative will also utilize public health tracking and surveillance and newly established communication channels between researchers, public officials and community stakeholders to support the initiative and develop solutions.

"There was a terrible train crash, and then there was a controlled burn of toxic chemicals that went into the atmosphere," Vance said in a video announcement posted to social media, alongside HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya.

"What happened then is that people got very worried. I've been to East Palestine a number of times, and they're very worried about what are the long-term impacts of these chemicals in the water, in the air. What effect does it have on their kids and grandkids after five years, 10 years, 15 years of exposure?"

Vance pointed the finger at the former Biden administration, claiming it "refused to do anything" to study the long-term health effects of the train crash for the residents of East Palestine.

Last month, communications uncovered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request allegedly showed the Biden administration was aware of the serious health risks posed by the toxic spill despite reassuring the public there was no evidence of significant chemical contamination.

"These documents confirm what East Palestine residents have feared: Government officials knew about the serious health risks posed by the derailment and controlled burn but deliberately kept this information from the community," said Lesley Pacey, senior environmental officer at the Government Accountability Project, which helped uncover the communications.

After the toxic spill in February 2023, residents began expressing fear after reporting headaches, respiratory illnesses and skin and eye irritation.

In April 2024, Norfolk Southern, the company operating the train that spilled chemicals in Northeastern Ohio, shelled out $600 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of East Palestine residents.

"As a senator, it was incredibly frustrating watching the Biden administration refuse to examine the potentially dangerous health impacts on the people of East Palestine following the train derailment," Vance added. "I'm proud that we finally have a new president that takes the concerns of everyday, working-class people seriously."

According to Bhattacharya, research for the initiative is expected to begin this fall.

June 19 (UPI) -- The National Institutes of Health is undertaking an extended study of the health effects that East Palestine, Ohio, residents have experienced due to the 2023 train derailment there.

The NIH is allocating $10 million to fund the study that will continue for five years and assess the long-term health impacts from the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that was carrying toxic chemicals.

"The people of East Palestine have a right to clear,science-backed answers about the impact on their health," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. said.

He credited Vice President JD Vance for raising awareness of the need to study the potential health effects on East Palestine's 4,658 residents.

Vance was a U.S. senator representing Ohio when the derailment occurred.

"It was incredibly frustrating watching the Biden administration refuse to examine the potentially dangerous health impacts on the people of East Palestine following the train derailment," Vance said.

"This historic research initiative will finally result in answers that this community deserves," he added.

The Norfolk Southern freight train included 38 railcars carrying toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethyleneglycol and benzene.

Many of the railcars were vented or intentionally burned over two days to rid them of the toxic chemicals, which the National Transportation Safety Board a year ago said was a mistake.

NTSB members conducted a public hearing in East Palestine last June to publicly discuss the derailment that was caused by a defective wheel bearing that overheated and failed.

Norfolk Southern and its contractors erred when they vented or burned off the contents of five tank cars that had derailed and contained vinyl chloride.

The venting and burning created a toxic plume that spread across 16 states and exposed about a third of the nation's population to the chemicals.

Many East Palestine residents have reported experiencing many health-related symptoms afterward, including headaches and respiratory, skin and eye irritations.

Other concerns include the potential long-term effects on maternal and child health and psychological, immunological, respiratory and cardiovascular impacts.

The NIH-funded study will focus on short- and long-term health affects from exposure to the chemicals, public health tracking and how to address community health concerns.

"[President] Joe Biden abandoned East Palestine and left a community of working Americans behind when they needed him the most," Sen.Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said.

"This is a huge step toward finally getting justice for East Palestine."