(NewsNation) — Vice President JD Vance will lead a group of lawmakers to East Palestine, Ohio, on Monday, two years after a toxic train derailment scarred the town for generations,
Vance will be joined by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, new EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Republican Sens. Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted. Husted recently replaced the vice president in the Senate.
After a train carrying chemicals derailed on the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio on Feb. 3, 2023, officials burned 116,000 gallons of vinyl chloride and forever changed the town.
Vinyl chloride is still being detected in the area, and residents have been sick, reporting rashes and upper respiratory issues.
No public health emergency has been declared, and there is no long-term health monitoring plan.
President Donald Trump has yet to sign a disaster declaration for East Palestine despite criticizing the Biden administration for not doing enough.
The declaration is something NewsNation asked then-Sen. JD Vance about a year ago.
“I think it’s shameful that (Biden) hasn’t signed it,” Vance said then. “I think the minute that Mike DeWine, the governor of the state asked for it, the president should have responded to it.”
