Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, narrowly avoided a catastrophe on February 3rd when a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in their small Northeast Ohio town and a fire broke out, endangering people's lives and the environment. Chemicals like vinyl chloride, hydrogen chloride, and ethylhexyl acrylate were spilled from the train. After a days-long fire, authorities eventually released and burned vinyl chloride, a flammable gas, to alleviate the risk of an explosion. As a result, residents within a roughly 1-mile radius were forced to evacuate their homes.

Rick Feezle, 63, who has worked in the vicinity of the derailment site all of his adult life and operates two businesses in the area, spoke of symptoms he and his wife have experienced, such as sore throats and headaches, raspy voices, and chest pain due to the nearby incident. He and other East Palestine residents are now part of a group that