Vice President JD Vance and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. n Thursday announced a research initiative to study the health effects of the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed spilling 38 cars worth of toxic chemicals into the small town in northeast Ohio in February 2023. A controlled burn was conducted to deal with the chemicals with some railcars burning for days. Some members of the community reported a wide range of health issues ranging from headaches to skin, eye, and respiratory problems.

Vance, who began his career in politics as a Senator from Ohio, posted how the investigation evolved and how “the Biden administration refused to do anything to study the effects of these long term exposures.” Vance was joined by Kennedy and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya in his announcement video.

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