EAST PALESTINE Researchers from several universities and officials from federal and local public health agencies will gather tonight to update the community on ongoing studies into the health and environmental impacts of the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment.

The event, titled “East Palestine: State of the Science,” is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in the auditorium of East Palestine High School, 360 W. Grant St. The meeting provides residents with an opportunity to learn the status of research efforts that started after the Feb. 3, 2023, incident, when a train carrying hazardous materials derailed, causing a fire and releasing chemicals into the ground and local waterways.

The evening is designed to offer comprehensive updates from the diverse groups currently studying the derailment’s aftermath. Presenters will include representatives from Case Western Reserve University, Texas A&M University, University of Kentucky, University of California, San Diego, and the University of Pittsburgh. Federal and local agencies presenting include the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Columbiana Health District. This combined approach reflects the continued academic and government interest in understanding the potential long-term consequences for residents and the surrounding environment in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, or NIEHS, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, has been a key player in organizing the scientific response since the disaster. In the early days after the derailment, the agency worked to identify research needs through its Disaster Research Response Program.

The NIEHS and partners hosted a virtual workshop in November 2023 that included community members and experts to help determine research priorities. This work led to a report release in January 2024 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Following those efforts, the NIEHS awarded six new grants in February 2024 to various universities for two years of time-sensitive research. These projects aim to document chemical exposures and gather health data, working closely with the East Palestine community.

More recently, the NIEHS committed $10 million over five years to fund a new, larger group research effort called the East Palestine Investigation Consortium, or EPIC. This consortium is intended to be community-driven and will be led by the University of Kentucky. It will include a longitudinal study to evaluate health outcomes, a community health needs assessment, and training for local clinicians. Other members of the consortium are the University of Pittsburgh, Yale University, and The Ohio State University. The group effort is scheduled to receive administrative support from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

The university teams presenting on Wednesday are focusing on various aspects of the disaster’s effects.

Case Western Reserve University’s team, led by principal investigator Frederick Ray Schumacher, is conducting the Healthy Futures Research Study. This long-term study focuses on how chemical exposures may affect health through DNA damage in residents. Researchers will be on-site on Wednesday to answer questions, and the team recently began a new phase of recruiting children for the study. CWRU is also allowing study participants to pick up a Tasso self-collection device at the event, which enables a virtually pain-free blood sample collection that can be done at home.

Texas A&M University's research team, led by Natalie Johnson, is carrying out the Responding to Air Pollution in Disasters Air Sampling and Symptom Monitoring study. The team is using a mobile air sampling strategy to quickly characterize potential health risks from hazardous volatile organic compound exposure during the recovery phases of the derailment.

University of California, San Diego’s team, led by principal investigator Beatrice Golomb, is running the East Palestine Health Effects Study. The study seeks to recruit a group of residents to evaluate the health impact of being exposed to a mixture of toxins over the short term, which is approximately two to three years. The researchers have already begun interviewing affected residents.

The University of Kentucky’s team, led by Erin Haynes, is conducting the East Palestine Train Derailment Health Tracking Study. This project uses an online survey to collect ongoing measurements of health symptoms, stress, and overall well-being from residents 18 and older, including those not reporting symptoms. Dr. Haynes is also the program lead for the new $10 million EPIC consortium.

The University of Pittsburgh has two research projects involved in the broader effort. The project led by Peng Gao is Profiling the Post-Accident Exposome in East Palestine. This research is focused on collecting soil, water, and sediment samples to determine the extent of chemical contamination and document the ongoing impact on the local environment and interconnected waterways.

The second project, led by principal co-investigators Juliane Beier and Maureen Lichtveld, is the East Palestine Community-Engaged Environmental Exposure, Health Data, and Biospecimen Bank. This study actively works with residents to collect water and air samples in their homes and collect blood samples and other health data to evaluate and potentially reduce the immediate and long-term impacts of exposure to vinyl chloride and other chemicals on the liver. Dr. Beier is also a principal investigator in the EPIC consortium, studying liver and thyroid function.

The ongoing research, particularly the $10 million EPIC program, emphasizes a community-driven approach. This means that community partners are meant to play a major role in determining research priorities. The objective is to use academic expertise to address the immediate and longer-term health concerns that residents have voiced since the derailment.

Wednesday night's event serves as a platform to strengthen this relationship, allowing residents to hear directly from the researchers and public health officials involved in the studies.

The Columbiana Health District’s participation highlights the connection between these academic research efforts and local public health needs. The event is open to all community members who wish to learn more about the scientific response to the East Palestine train derailment.