‘A nightmare’: Ohio residents tell of lasting toll from toxic train crash

Federal and state officials say the air, water and soil is safe - but locals in East Palestine are still suffering damaging symptoms

In the days after a fiery February train derailment that likely poisoned the environment in East Palestine, Ohio with a range of highly toxic chemicals, Amanda Kenner and her family experienced the burning eyes, nose, throat and other symptoms widely reported among the population in the small town near the Pennsylvania border.

In the months since, as the media and world have largely moved, their lives have not improved much. Kenner's four-year-old son, who had asthma before the wreck, saw his symptoms become uncontrollable, forcing the doctor to change his medication, Kenner said. She and her eight-year-old son developed asthma, and they all have experienced nausea, diarrhea and headaches that they attribute to chemical exposure.