The Biden Administration is expanding a program that administers door-to-door health surveys following the explosive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio into Pennsylvania, a White House official said Wednesday.
(Bloomberg) — The Biden Administration is expanding a program that administers door-to-door health surveys following the explosive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio into Pennsylvania, a White House official said Wednesday.
The initiative now stretches into neighboring Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The administration has already visited around 100 homes as of Wednesday.
Federal officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention visited around 400 homes in the immediate vicinity of East Palestine over the weekend, according to the White House. The government has been distributing fliers detailing available federal resources.
President Joe Biden has so far opted against visiting the site of the fiery crash and chemical explosion, instead dispatching cabinet members and emergency response workers. That decision has come under criticism from leading Republicans, with former President Donald Trump — who has announced his 2024 presidential campaign — visiting the town last week and distributing fast food and water.
Biden has defended his administration’s response, noting to reporters on Friday that federal officials were on the ground within hours of the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern Corp. train carrying toxic chemicals.
“I’m keeping very close tabs on it. We’re doing all we can,” he said. “The idea that we’re not engaged is just simply not there.”
White House officials are also examining whether existing federal money could be allocated to small businesses in the community, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The White House has publicly challenged Republicans — who rolled back proposed rail-safety measures during the Trump administration — to support legislative changes that would toughen fines for safety violations and strengthen hazardous shipment regulations. On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of senators introduced new legislation that would enable the Transportation Department to impose stricter safety rules on freight rail and authorize $27 million for safety improvements.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was “glad to see bipartisan support” for the bill, calling it a “good first step.”
“We encourage Republicans and Democrats to continue to work together to invent advance these common sets of rail safety measures,” she told reporters Wednesday.
In addition to the weekend’s door-to-door effort, federal officials have so far screened 550 homes in the area and are monitoring the air and water quality in East Palestine, the White House said.
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