East Palestine residents wonder why Biden didn't visit site of toxic train derailment sooner
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (KDKA) -- More than a year after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed, people who live in East Palestine continue to deal with anxiety, health concerns and questions.
Many tell KDKA-TV they're happy President Joe Biden came to town, but they want to know what took so long.
It was a gathering of critics along the main drag. Many held signs that said "too little, too late." A lot of protesters KDKA-TV talked to weren't from the area but countless residents have been asking why the president would come and not speak directly to those affected so deeply.
When the president got to East Palestine, he met with leaders and announced six National Insitute of Health grants to research universities to study the short- and long-term impacts of the derailment. Biden also restated his support for the bipartisan rail safety bill and pushed the Senate to follow the House and pass the tax reform bill so residents aren't hit with a surprise tax bill for compensation received by Norfolk Southern.
Inside Christina Dilworth's family home, she's stuck looking at the toys and video games her grandkids will no longer play -- not because they don't want to, but because her family no longer thinks it's safe to spend time in her home.
She's one of many people who can still hear the blare of the train horn from her living room couch, wrought with anxiety and unexplained sickness.
She's hopeful the president will announce federal aid after countless advocates wrote him a letter, requesting disaster declaration. She's also pushing for increased safety rail standards.
"Well obviously we wish he would have came a little bit sooner, but, hey, he's here now and we can use all the help we can get right now. And we did put in for state of emergency and it hasn't passed yet and I don't really know all the details of that, but like I said, any help we can get, we would really appreciate," Dilworth said.
She didn't vote for Biden but said any attention is good attention to ensure the American people don't forget about what happened to her, her family and her neighbors.
While delivering remarks after meeting with local leaders, Biden said there's still a lot of work to do in East Palestine, "but we're going to stay until the very end."
"I want to continue to hold Norfolk Southern accountable, make sure they make your community whole now and in the future," Biden said. "And what they do not make whole, what they cannot make whole, the government will make whole. We have an obligation. We have an obligation. I can already see this derailment won't define you. It defines you in a different way -- your courage, your resilience of this community."
Dilworth said many people, if not most, living in East Palestine are living paycheck to paycheck. She's disappointed the Biden administration didn't make it known to the public where he would be and the fact he didn't speak to people like her.
