Officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. today to open a research office in East Palestine. The event marks exactly three years since a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed, changing the lives of residents.

The new office at the Way Station on Rebecca Street serves as a base for the East Palestine Train Derailment Health Research Program. The five-year, $10 million study aims to track the health of residents and workers affected by chemical exposure following the wreck.

On Feb. 3, 2023, 38 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed. Among the wreckage were 11 cars carrying hazardous materials. To prevent a potential explosion, officials conducted a "controlled release" of vinyl chloride from five rail cars. The process sent a large plume of black smoke over the region and forced thousands of people in Ohio and Pennsylvania to leave their homes.

Several lawsuits against Norfolk Southern resulted in a 600-million-dollar settlement for those living within 30 miles of the derailment.

According to the U.S. EPA, as of January, the site-wide cleanup and restoration are complete. The response is now in a monitoring, maintenance, and reporting phase.

The agency says crews cleaned remaining oily sheens from Leslie and Sulphur Runs and completed the final stream assessment for the project last fall.

Groundwater, surface water, and drinking water are sampled quarterly as part of site monitoring.