Federal Officials Enter 500 East Palestine Homes After Toxic Train Crash

EPA officials knock on doors and talk to residents in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 16, 2023. Residents of the Ohio village upended by a freight train derailment are demanding to know if they're safe from the toxic chemicals that were released and burned off to avoid a deadly explosion. Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP

More than 500 “home re-entry screenings” were carried out by federal officials in East Palestine, Ohio, following the train derailment and release of toxic chemicals in February, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Feb. 3 derailment toppled 38 rail cars. No one was hurt, but concerns over a potential explosion led state and local officials to approve releasing and burning toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars.