EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (WKBN) — Representatives from Norfolk Southern are warning East Palestine residents about what they are calling fake orange flyers that are being put on residents’ homes.
Teams on the ground in the village are reporting that someone is putting fake notices on homes with one saying “HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS INSIDE Thank you Norfolk Southern #epstrong.”
These flyers are not from Norfolk Southern.
“These are unnecessary attempts to scare residents of the town and cause confusion in the community,” the railroad company said.
Ashley McCollum, who lives .02 miles from the derailment site and started the Facebook group Hazardous Chemicals Inside, is giving out the flyers to residents who want them said residents are putting the flyers on their homes themselves.
The Hazardous Chemicals Inside group has 10 members as of Tuesday.
“It (the flyers) was supposed to be loud. Everyone has a separate problem, so many have reached out to tell their story,” McCollum said.
The flyers do not actually indicate that there are hazardous chemicals inside the homes where they are placed, it was meant to be an attention-getter, McCollum said.
McCollum said she has heard from multiple residents who are not satisfied with the testing or the help that is being offered to them. She herself said she is worried about her own home but said she has not had any testing done by Norfolk Southern or the EPA on the air or water in her home. She said she tried to get private, independent testing and that those results showed traces of ethanol and vinyl chloride in her home and vinyl chloride in her car.
However, McCollum said that those testers explained that they are limited in the chemicals they can accurately test for since vinyl chloride is not a common household chemical.
McCollum also said that an independent documentary film crew has contacted her and is in town filming some events.
Norfolk reiterated that they have been conducting in-home air monitoring by contractors in conjunction with the Ohio EPA and the U.S. EPA and those have not shown any detections of substances related to the derailment and controlled burn of vinyl chloride and “does not indicate a health risk.”
Any residents who want their home tested can call 33-849-3919. Questions or concerns can be directed to the CTEH Taggart Road Hotline at 234-542-6474 to speak to a toxicologist.
In addition, water testing has shown that municipal water in East Palestine is safe to drink and that testing of private wells is ongoing at the request of any resident who wishes to have their private well tested.
For information on how to schedule your private water well for testing, call 330-849-3919. In Pennsylvania call 412-442-4000.
