Earlier in 2023, several members of the CDC team that was sent to investigate the East Palestine train derailment came down with the same symptoms of illness that the community was reporting during the precise period that the CDC team was taking surveillance data in the community. However, the community was told by authorities – governmental and corporate – that there was no evidence that the air, soil, or groundwater was contaminated to the point of posing a health risk to the community.
Recently, it was revealed that the symptoms have continued unabated in the affected community months after the incident, and that independent research has shown inconsistencies with the data that was presented by the authorities – including possible faulty test design. The community is still searching for answers, and the responsibility has fallen on universities and other independent sources to understand what has happened.
This situation highlights the importance of human experience in understanding public health and environmental changes. Instead of dismissing survey data because it does not agree with other tests that were conducted, the data should be used to triangulate results and guide further research. If something seems wrong, there is a good chance that it probably is.
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