By Brad Brooks
Feb 15 (Reuters) - Hundreds of irate residents of the Ohio town where a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals packed into a high school gym on Wednesday, seeking answers to what health dangers they face.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, looking angry and tired, said at Wednesday's town hall that he wanted to help provide some reassurance for the 4,700 citizens of his town, and hold to account those responsible for the train derailment.
"We need our citizens to feel safe in their own homes," Conaway said as the meeting began. "I need help. I'm not ready for this. But I'm not leaving, I'm not going anywhere."
Conaway said Norfolk Southern, which operated the toxins-laden train that derailed on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, was working closely with him. "They screwed up our town, they're going to fix it," Conway said.
Conaway addressed citizens seated in bleachers, speaking through a bull horn as he paced around the gym floor.
Norfolk Southern officials did not attend the meeting, saying they feared violence.
"After consulting with community leaders, we have become increasingly concerned about the growing physical threat to our employees and members of the community around this event stemming from the increasing likelihood of the participation of outside parties," the company said in an emailed statement.
The Norfolk Southern Railroad-operated train's derailment caused a fire that sent a cloud of smoke over East Palestine. Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate. After railroad crews drained and burned off a toxic chemical from five tanker cars, residents were allowed to return to their homes on Feb. 8.
Much remains unknown of the dangers posed to residents by the toxins that spilled, experts said. Many in the area have complained of headaches and irritated eyes, and noted that chickens, fish and other wildlife have died off. Despite that, state health officials have insisted to residents that East Palestine is a safe place to be.
Erik Olson, the senior strategic director for health and food at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit group focused on the environment and public health, said the unknown dangers stemming from the derailment vastly outweigh reassurances that officials have given on safety.
"This is clearly a very toxic brew of chemicals," Olson said. "And I've not seen any public accounting for how many pounds or gallons of any of these chemicals that were released."
The air and water testing that's been done so far seemed limited and "is not all that reassuring," Olson said.