Locals Near Ohio Train Derailment Diagnosed with Bronchitis, Other Health Conditions After Chemical Exposure

With a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Train Derailment Ohio, East Palestine, United States - 04 Feb 2023
With a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Train Derailment Ohio, East Palestine, United States - 04 Feb 2023

Gene J Puskar/AP/Shutterstock Crash site after a Norfolk and Southern freight train derailed on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio

Three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, locals are being diagnosed with bronchitis and other health conditions due to the chemical exposure.

The train was pulling 150 cars through the village, located about 50 miles from Pittsburgh and home to over 4,700, on the morning of Feb. 3 when it jumped the rails and toppled over, spilling numerous dangerous chemicals as a result.

The derailment resulted in what officials called a "controlled release" of chemicals in hopes of avoiding further disaster, per The Washington Post.

Melissa Blake, who lives within a mile of the crash site, told NBC News that she started coughing up gray mucus and was struggling to breathe two days after the derailment. She was quickly diagnosed with "acute bronchitis due to chemical fumes" after a trip to the emergency room, which can be caused by "exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals."

"They gave me a breathing machine. They put me on oxygen. They gave me three types of steroids," she told the outlet, sharing that she hasn't been able to return home due to the chemicals in the area.

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Additionally, five of the 10 workers at manufacturing company CeramFab, located next to the crash site, became sick after the derailment.

The company's general manager, Howard Yang, told the outlet that they were forced to close for a week due to the release of vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic chemical onboard the train. Yang explained that after resuming operations on Feb. 13, many of his workers became sick and "started dropping like flies."

"People ended up with rashes, nausea, vomiting, bloody nose, eye issues. A lot of coughing, wheezing," he claimed. "We sent a lot of workers to the hospital to get checked out and, sure enough, in most cases, it was a diagnosis of 'chemical bronchitis.' They were put on five different kinds of pills, including steroids. Some guys have to use inhalers. It's pretty bad."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, common symptoms of chemical exposure include dizziness, headache, nausea, nose and throat irritation, skin irritation or rashes, and itchy, watery or burning eyes.

However, experts say it's difficult to determine whether the symptoms of local residents and workers are directly linked to the derailment.

"There's no lab test. There's no imaging test. It's really just a clinical suspicion of what it could be," Dr. James Kravec —chief clinical officer for Mercy Health in Youngstown and Lorraine, Ohio — told NBC. "It's certainly reasonable to say if you have a rash, dry skin or dry eyes, dry nose, that it could be related. There really isn't a way to tell for sure, unfortunately."