On the evening of Feb. 3, 2023, a freight train full of toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, and residents near the site feared long-term health consequences when a large black plume lingered in the area above homes for weeks.
A year later, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, 39, met with struggling members of the community and spoke with reporters. He urged President Biden to fund long-term health screening for residents in nearby areas.
“If you talk to people, this is people who want to move on from this disaster, this is people are still worried about chemical contamination, they want to know with confidence that 10 years down the road, if something happens to their kids, God forbid, or themselves, they can trace it to this accident or not,” the official Vance Senate page reads. “The only way to do that is to do the health baseline screening that we have talked about and we …