The Trump administration will study the long-term effects on people of chemicals released after the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Vice President JD Vance, who is from Ohio, joined Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Battacharya to announce the new initiative in a video posted to social media.
“I’ve been to East Palestine a number of times, and they’re very worried about, what are the long-term impacts of these chemicals in the water, in the air? What effect does it have on their kids and grandkids after 5 years, 10 years, 15 years of exposure?” said Vance.
“The crazy thing is, number one, we didn’t have a good answer to that question. Science had never actually tried to understand what the long-term exposure of these trace chemicals would do to people,” he continued. “And the second crazy thing is that as much as I tried as a United States senator to work with the Biden administration, they refused to do anything to actually study the effects of these long-term exposures on the people of East Palestine.”
After a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed and dumped its cargo, residents, officials, and investigators who resided or worked close to the spill reported having symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and dizziness. A controlled burn of the spill sent plumes of black smoke into the air, causing further concerns of what the smoke could do to nearby residents.
“The National Institutes of Health under my direction has launched a 5-year, $10 million research initiative to address health outcomes stemming from this calamity. This is the first large-scale, coordinated, multi-year federal study focused specifically on the long-term health impacts of the East Palestine disaster,” Kennedy said.
Bhattacharya added: “The purpose and goal of the NIH, the mission is to advance the health and well-being of the American people, and this is a concrete way that we’re going to do that. The NIH is working to ensure that the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities are listened to, cared for, and they get the answers they deserve.”
I’m proud to announce with @SecKennedy and @NIHDirector_Jay that the Trump Administration is launching a program to study long-term health effects of the chemical spill in East Palestine, OH and help residents access the care they need.
East Palestine, we will never forget you. pic.twitter.com/zjJOnXZgoc
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 19, 2025
The East Palestine spill was a calamity for the roughly 5,000- strong community and exploded into national news. The accident inspired rancor against the Biden administration and then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Former President Joe Biden notably stayed away from East Palestine until the one-year anniversary of the disaster.
President Donald Trump, who was campaigning for president at the time, visited East Palestine within weeks of the disaster, bringing supplies to the reeling community.
