The Trump administration is standing firm in its commitment to the city of East Palestine, Ohio, by opening a National Institutes of Health field office in the town to coordinate medical research following the toxic train derailment accident in 2023.
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya announced the new research center in eastern Ohio on the three-year anniversary of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment involving 38 railcars carrying hazardous chemicals.
The accident resulted in prolonged fires and controlled burns lasting for more than two days. Residents reported at the time an array of symptoms for weeks after the incident, including headaches, respiratory issues, and skin and eye irritation.
The research center, part of the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is meant to serve as a hub for community members to participate in the administration’s five-year $10 million research initiative into the health effects of the accident.
Researchers from the University of Kentucky, University of Pittsburgh, and Yale University are investigating the long-term effects of the disaster, alongside local, state, and federal leaders, healthcare providers, and community residents.
Bhattacharya said in a press release that the research program at the new center is “designed to bring rigorous, independent science directly to the community.”
“By establishing a local presence, we can better engage residents, support enrollment in studies, and ensure the research reflects the real experiences and concerns of the people affected,” said Bhattacharya.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees NIH, said that the new research hub “offers the people of East Palestine a pathway to clear answers about their health they deserve.”
President Donald Trump leaned into the East Palestine disaster during the 2024 presidential campaign, visiting the town weeks before then-President Joe Biden.
Vice President JD Vance, a Buckeye state native and Ohio senator at the time of the accident, made his first trip to East Palestine in 2025.
Vance told the Washington Examiner in January in an exclusive interview that the train derailment “will have changed East Palestine forever.”
“It’s not like they’re going to drink the drinking water and drop dead,” he told the Washington Examiner. “It’s that their grandkid, over 10 to 12 years, is going to experience some problem related to low-level toxic exposure.”
HELPING EAST PALESTINE WAS A SIGNATURE PROMISE FOR TRUMP. RECOVERY WILL TAKE YEARS
A White House spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that the Trump administration is “in this for the long haul.”
“From Day One, President Trump and Vice President Vance have used every level of executive power to ensure the people of East Palestine receive the support they deserve,” said the spokesperson.
White House reporter Christian Datoc contributed to this report.
