The U.S. environmental agency told Ohio residents it was safe to return home after a toxic train derailed, despite pets and wildlife being found sick and dead.
EPA Administrator Michael Reagan asked residents to “trust the government” and said he would move his family back to the area if he lived in East Palestine, Ohio.
Two weeks after the freight train derailed, locals complained of headaches and eye irritation and found their cars and lawns covered in soot.
Thousands of fish in local creeks have also died, and the smell of fresh paint lingers, even as tests show the air and water in the nearby Pennsylvania town of fewer than 5,000 people are safe.
Black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio after derailment
On a visit to the town to reassure skeptical residents who were ordered to evacuate, Mr Reagan said: “I’m asking them to trust the government. I know it’s hard. We know there’s a lack of trust.”
“We’re testing everything on that train.”
At a public meeting Wednesday attended by hundreds, residents expressed apparent dismay at the vague and incomplete information on the long-term impact of the disaster.
“I have three grandchildren,” Kathy Decker said. “Will they grow up here in five years and have cancer?”
Some residents booed or laughed every time the village chief and state health director said the noxious smell was not dangerous, and rail operator Norfolk Southern was absent from meetings.
“They just danced around the issue a lot,” said Danielle Deere, who lives a few miles from the derailment site. “Norfolk needs to be here.”
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“We are here and will always be here to keep you safe and to help East Palestine recover and prosper,” Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a letter to the community.
There are at least five lawsuits against the company, which has announced a $1m (£834m) fund to help the community.
Norfolk Southern continues to clean up spills from the ground and streams and monitor air quality.
On 3 February, some 50 trains derailed on the outskirts of East Palestine.
Ohio train derails, sparks fire
To avoid an uncontrolled explosion, officials evacuated the area and Select release and burn Flames and black smoke rose again as five trams spewed toxic vinyl chloride.
The latest tests showed that the five wells that supply the town with drinking water were not contaminated.
At least 3,500 fish carcasses, mostly small fish such as minnows and dartfish, were found in the stream over seven miles.
The suspected cause of the derailment was a mechanical problem with the rail car axle. The NTSB said it had a video that appeared to show wheel bearings overheating before the crash.