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When a train loaded with toxic chemicals crashed near East Palestine, Ohio earlier this month and poisoned a local stream, many local residents thought the first few days of cleanup would be the hardest. But now, weeks later, far more sinister after-effects are beginning to appear. And this time, it’s not just fish that are dying.
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Local farmers and wildlife watchers have reported finding dead animals all across the region, some as far as 20 miles away from the crash site, reports The Washington Post. Chickens, foxes, and pet rabbits are all among the reported casualties.
Officials haven’t confirmed that the farm animal deaths are related to the train crash. However, they have publicly announced that at least 43,000 aquatic animals have died as a result of the chemical spill. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources claims that most of these deaths were small fish, crawfish, and amphibians. So far, no endangered species have been found dead, but all these smaller animals serve as critical food sources for birds, larger fish, and other wildlife, including the threatened hellbender salamander. Right now, some experts fear that it’s not just one aquatic ecosystem that’s at risk of collapse — it’s the whole watershed.Â
Some locals are refusing to drink well water in the vicinity of the crash for fear that the chemicals are moving throughout the water supply. There’s no official proof of that yet, just as there’s no official proof that the dying farm animals were a direct result of the spill. Still, many observers find the timing uncannily suspicious.
This isn’t the first complaint East Palestine residents have made about the handling of the crash. Local politicians have been cursed for their response time, which some Ohioans have viewed as inadequate. Some residents have also reported negative human health effects, including rashes and nausea immediately following the crash, reports Desert News.
Right now, officials are removing dead fish from the water and continuing to monitor for dangerous levels of residual chemicals. Meanwhile, several residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against the train company, Norfolk Southern, who they say poisoned the land and water near their homes. It’s one of seven lawsuits filed so far, though no judgements have been delivered yet.
