US Features

East Palestine Residents Still Concerned, Frustrated 2 Years After Toxic Train Derailment

Feb. 3 marks the two-year point after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in the village on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
East Palestine Residents Still Concerned, Frustrated 2 Years After Toxic Train Derailment
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 6, 2023, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo
Jeff Louderback
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EAST PALESTINE, Ohio—As a lifelong resident of East Palestine, which generations of his family have called home, Greg Mascher longs for the village he knew before Feb. 3, 2023.

“This town meant everything to me. It was a great place to live and raise a family. It was a great place to grow up,” Mascher told The Epoch Times on Jan. 31. “Most people even across Ohio couldn’t point to East Palestine on a map. I wish it could go back to the way it was but that’s not possible. Now, we have to wonder about an uncertain present and future.”

Jeff Louderback
Jeff Louderback
Reporter
Jeff Louderback covers major news and politics, including the Make America Healthy Again movement and regenerative farming. Since joining The Epoch Times in 2022, he has covered national elections, the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presidential campaign, the East Palestine train derailment, and the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Jeff has 30-plus years of professional experience as a reporter, editor, and author.