EXCLUSIVE: East Palestine’s Toxic Nightmare Continues–Residents Battle Anxiety and Uncertainty Months After Train Catastrophe

Ron Fodo, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Emergency Response, looks for signs of fish and agitates the water in Leslie Run creek to check for chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 20, 2023. Michael Swensen/Getty Images

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio—Until Feb. 3, most Americans had never heard of East Palestine, a village of 4,700 residents in eastern Ohio about a mile from the Pennsylvania border. Most people couldn’t even accurately pronounce its name, lifelong resident Gregory Mascher said.

“East Pali-steen, not East Pali-stine,” he said with a grin.