Officials at first repeatedly claimed the air quality and drinking water did not pose threats but, finally, Governor Mike DeWine announced on Friday that a creek near East Palestine is still “severely contaminated.” He noted it will take time to remediate the situation. Meanwhile, the Biden administration announced it would deploy a team of toxicologists to the site.
Nadine Lucie Straile does not live in East Palestine but began to experience a horrible headache and burning of the skin after she ate dinner at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant near the site of the controlled release on February 7.
“That night my eye’s started burning like never before and then a horrible headache came on,” Straile told Sputnik. “My lips, tongue and throat, nasals were burning… a day later I started tingling all over my body.”
Her neighbors, who live some 20 miles from where the controlled burn took place, are also experiencing symptoms, possibly because the wind spread the toxic chemicals further into the region, she added.
“This was not a neuropathy tingling. A different type, even my breast. My neighbors are experiencing some of the same symptoms,” Straile said. “My blood pressure went sky high, probably from the pain, the ER [Emergency Room] said.”
Heather Ann, who lives about four miles from East Palestine, also experienced headaches, burning skin sensation, difficulty breathing and sinus issues in the wake of the incident.