EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – Mixed messages continue long after burning railcars from the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train derailment sent hazardous chemicals into the night sky.
While many first responders are learning their personal injury claims are being denied, the National Institutes of Health is allocating $10 million in research to study the health effects on people near the derailment.
Detective Dan Haueter of the East Palestine Police Department was the first on the scene after the derailment and testified during an interview with National Transportation Safety Board investigators about what he saw and did.
“When I first saw it, I mean, it was probably one of the strangest, craziest things I ever saw,” Haueter said during his testimony. “The diesel fire alone, I mean, how hot and angry it was burning. … I remember my radio chatter, whatever it is, it is fully engulfed and it was burning angry.”
Likening it to a disaster movie set when a volcano is going to erupt, Haueter testified he had called for the volunteer fire department. And he requested more police officers to be called in to help evacuate residents because he didn’t know how far the fire would spread or what hazardous materials were in the derailed burning cars. The evacuation zone expanded throughout the evening.
Immediately after the derailment, it was estimated 50 first responder agencies heeded the call for help.
Haueter saw the burning chemical fire firsthand, yet he is one of many first responders to recently receive a letter from Kroll Administrators informing him he isn’t eligible for a personal injury claim through the $600 million class action settlement because he was “not present within 10 miles of the derailment site between Feb. 3, 2023 and April 26, 2024.”
“The first responders, they were there within yards, feet,” Haueter said. “We were in the evacuation zone during that whole time period, still handling calls, getting onlookers out. … To treat those people with just blanket rejection letters, it feels like we got the Jelly of the Month Club [a reference to a scene in the movie ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’]. … At least the Jelly of the Month Club would have been something. This is worse than the Jelly of the Month Club.”
Though Haueter doesn’t live in East Palestine, his job brought him down near the derailment site over the next several days and weeks. He said he believes everyone who was at the derailment site, as well as people who were living or working in “that environment,” should be receiving settlement money.
“There has to be a better process to get the money out to people and the emergency personnel,” Haueter said. “It’s disrespectful, and it was downright disgusting.”
Haueter said the amount of money being offered is low, and he asked how someone can put a price on a person’s life. He said he has heard of people getting low offers in the $3,000 to $4,000 range, but then appealing and getting the amount raised to $20,000. He said he believes someone needs to look into how the money is being distributed and that Kroll should possibly face sanctions.
“Something doesn’t smell right with this, and it doesn’t take me or anybody else to figure that out,” Haueter said.
Haueter has already appealed his rejection letter with exhibits, including a PowerPoint video clip of him testifying about his experiences from that night.
Kroll was recently replaced by Epiq Class Action and Claims Solutions in a ruling by Federal Judge Benita Pierson, who oversaw the settlement case. The change came at the request of settlement class attorneys.
Epiq is expected to audit the settlement distribution efforts of Kroll before restarting the process.
Health Monitoring
Ever since the derailment, many East Palestine residents have asked for long-term health monitoring.
On Thursday, the National Institutes of Health launched a five-year $10 million research initiative to assess and address the health outcomes stemming from the derailment.
According to the announcement, which came from Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the studies will be multidisciplinary and community-focused on understanding the short- and long-term health impacts of exposures to chemicals from the derailment. The studies will include public health tracking and surveillance of community health conditions that support health care decisions and preventative measures.
The NIH is seeking research proposals with a deadline of July 21, with research to start in the fall.
“Programs like these, in coordination with other federal, state and local partners, are critical to ensuring the impacted communities can move forward with the essential tools and knowledge to safeguard their long-term well-being,” said U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-14th. I look forward to continuing to work with the administration and my colleagues in Congress to enact my bill, the East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act, and similar programs that advocate for the long-term recovery of the region.”
Gov. Mike DeWine said “the funding for long-term health studies for the people of East Palestine is great news for the community. 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 new health studies aren’t the first after the derailment. In February 2024, the National Institute of Environment Health Sciences awarded research grants for two-year studies to Case Western Reserve University, Texas A&M University, the University of California – San Diego, the University of Kentucky and two to the University of Pittsburgh. Those studies are ongoing.
Pictured at top: Railcars burn after the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine. (NTSB via Columbiana County Commissioners)