EAST PALESTINE, OHIO — For Jess Conard, a new documentary on the East Palestine train derailment cuts deep.

What You Need To Know

  • An organization called "The Years Project" has made a documentary about the East Palestine train derailment. 

  • It includes calls on the U.S. EPA to ban vinyl chloride, a carcinogen that was on some of the train cars that derailed. 

  • Two retired regional EPA administrators are featured in the doc. 

“This is my community," Conard said as she fought back tears. 

She’s been included in the documentary “What Happened in East Palestine.” An organization called The Years Project is behind it. Its goal is to explain the dangers of vinyl chloride, which is one of the chemicals on the trains that veered off the tracks. For decades, The EPA has deemed it a carcinogen.

“I’m just so proud of how we have tried to come out of this, and recognized that East Palestine is a symptom of a bigger issue," Conard said. 

Conard is seen on the documentary being removed from a hearing at the state Capitol as she called on lawmakers to take action. She has framed the sign she says was taken from her by security at the Capitol.

“Interrupting someone is very rude, but we were interrupted," she said. "Our lives were interrupted, and as a result we felt like in order for us to be heard, we had to interrupt the lives of our statehouse.”

Conard has joined the Beyond Plastics organization that helped make the documentary. Judith Enck is her boss at Beyond Plastics and is one of two retired Regional EPA Administrators in the documentary. She said the EPA has the authority to ban vinyl chloride.

“They have ample evidence to start the process to ban vinyl chloride," Enck said. "It’s going to take a couple of years, but it should move along because the science is solid.”

When reached for comment, the U.S. EPA sent a statement:

“While EPA has not made a formal announcement yet, EPA can confirm that vinyl chloride is one of the 15 chemicals being considered for the next round of prioritization for risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act," the statement said. 

Conard said she hopes the agency can act, since she’s worried about what could be on all of the trains passing her backyard everyday.

“I like to think the saying is true that lightning doesn’t strike twice in one place," Conard said. "But the unfortunate truth is that it does strike again.”

The EPA said they plan on picking five chemicals to evaluate for risks by the end of the year.

Norfolk Southern declined to comment on the documentary. 

Related Stories