It was the first of its kind in East Palestine Thursday evening. Studio 25 welcomed an informational session hosted by environmental and legal experts not affiliated with Norfolk Southern or the EPA. This is to help people get answers of their own on the effects of the train derailment. 

"We're at war with corporate greed, with the politicians that have this money lined in their pocket," explained Jamie Cozza, Community Organizer with River Valley Organizing. "We're here for one issue and that's to make our town safe."

Hundreds came together in downtown East Palestine asking questions to environmental and legal experts not affiliated with the railroad or government including when dioxins could be broken down, if the water and soil is safe, and if the controlled burn was the best option. The meeting lasted for more than 2 hours, with dozens of concerned residents nearly begging for advice. 

"I can not find one incident where they have detonated all the cars in a trench and burned it off," said Sil Caggiano, HAZMAT Specialist and former Youngstown Fire Battalion Chief.

Panelists including Dr. Carla Ng, Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, explained soil testing is critical to find dioxins.

"Who's affected, how far should we be looking?" Ng explained. "It's a little bit about where those smoke plumes went and then at what point would different chemicals fall out."

Organizers of this event looked for the truth after toxicologists deemed their homes unsafe while the EPA claimed homes were safe.

"The statement that it's not contaminated is false," said Heather Hulton VanTassel, Executive Director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper. "You will find 15 sites that are highly contaminated."

Other panelists included Stephen Lester, Science Director at the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, and reps from Fair Shake Legal Services. 

"When you throw the rock in, you're disturbing the chemicals that sink in water," Caggiano added. "They're going to come to the surface and they're going to vaporize and you're going to smell that."

The community is still concerned about the lasting effects on their health.

"It's kind of like smoking one cigarette," Caggiano compared. "You're probably not going to get cancer from smoking one cigarette. Will you stay here and live and breathe this stuff? That's the whole thing."

Caggiano said it's not a bad idea to get a baseline physical done now so you can continue to monitor your health for years to come.

Other topics discussed included changing furnace filters for better air quality and the negative effects on E. Palestine property values.