Photo Provided The Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment took its fight to Capitol Hill on Thursday, speaking with the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and lawmakers as the group continues to call on President Joe Biden to declare a disaster for East Palestine and the surrounding communities. Unity Council members Jessica Conard, center, and Hillary Flint discuss the impacts of the train derailment on area residents with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in Washington.

EAST PALESTINE — Members of the Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment took their concerns to Capitol Hill on Thursday, sharing their stories with lawmakers and demanding action by taking action.

The council — a community advocacy and oversight group formed by representatives from the towns impacted by February’s Norfolk train derailment and chemical vent — met with U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, John Fetterman, D-Pa., Ed Markey, D-Mass, and Tom Carper, D-Del., Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and staff members of Senators Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Casey and Jeffrey Merkley, D-Or. The Unity Council met with Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine’s staff as well as the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The group also left a list of demands at both the offices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

At the top of that list is an immediate Major Presidential Disaster Declaration for East Palestine and surrounding communities in the wake of the derailment. The Unity Council’s main objective in Washington was to call on legislators to support the declaration. On July 3, DeWine officially made a disaster declaration request to President Joe Biden. The request came on the same day a 120-day extension from FEMA was set to expire and days after a second extension was requested by DeWine but denied by FEMA.

The Unity Council says a Major Disaster Declaration is needed as those in the East Palestine area are still struggling to put their lives back together nearly six months after the train derailed. For Unity Council members, the rail disaster has made activists of ordinary people, who are making noise in an effort to make a difference for the towns they call home.

“I have suspended my social and personal life to urge these leaders to come to the front of this effort and help secure an emergency declaration,” UCEP member and East Palestine resident Jessica Conard said. “We need indoor home air monitoring and a robust medical assessment program for those potentially exposed to hazardous materials from the Ohio train derailment and toxic chemical spill. There is time to create a positive path forward. It’s time to take action.”

According to FEMA.gov, the president can declare a major disaster for any event that “the president determines has caused damage of such severity that it is beyond the combined capabilities of state and local governments to respond.” A major disaster declaration would provide areas impacted by the events of and following the derailment, a “wide range of federal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure, including funds for both emergency and permanent work.”

Along with the Major Presidential Disaster Declaration, the Unity Council is also demanding a relocation program funded by the railroad and coordinated by the federal government to assist anyone who feels unsafe in their home and chooses to relocate, a program that allows residents to hire independent scientists at Norfolk Southern’s expense to complete air, water and soil testing, the right of residents to seek independent medical testing, monitoring and/or treatment funded by NF, proper and free filtration devices for all communities impacted and the disposal of all toxic waste created by the train derailment to be done so safely and far away from Columbiana County (not at Heritage Thermal Services, formerly WTI, in East Liverpool). The Unity Council is also calling for the enactment of Social Security Act 1881a which promises free Medicare to environmental hazard victims. Following derailment and chemical release, some residents have reported persistent nosebleeds, headaches, rashes, eye irritation, respiratory and digestive difficulties and cognitive issues. Some have reported seizure-like episodes and rectal bleeding. Women have reported gynecological issues such as prolonged menstrual cycles and heavy menstrual flow.

Members of the CDC, who were in East Palestine following the derailment to help assess the potential health implications, developed symptoms themselves related to chemical exposure, reporting headaches and nausea. At Vance’s office, the Unity Council learned that some of Vance’s staff suffered nosebleeds when near the contaminated waterways of Leslie and Sulphur Runs during a trip to East Palestine in March.

The Unity Council says the report of nosebleeds by Vance’s staff is a mere microcosm of what those in East Palestine and surrounding communities are dealing with every day and more proof that its people are suffering and federal relief is needed.

“The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind,” said Hilary Flint, an UCEP member from Enon Valley. “We left here with more information than we came with, and I hope with help from the federal government we can turn that into tangible action.”