Ohio City Calls Chemical Train Derailment 'our Chernobyl'

Ohio city calls chemical train derailment 'our Chernobyl'

For East Palestine residents John and Lisa Hamner, life as they knew it came to a screeching, flaming halt on February 3 at 8:55 p.m.

It was the day a poison-laden train derailed just meters from his successful garbage truck business, which grew from five customers to more than 7,000 over an 18-year period in and around the Ohio city .

"It has completely ruined our lives," he told the BBC, breaking down in tears in the parking lot of his business, where the smell of chemicals and sulfur from the derailment remains potent.

He said, "I'm at the point now where I just want to get out of here." "We're going to relocate. We can't do this anymore."

Following the derailment, emergency crews conducted a controlled release of vinyl chloride from five railcars that were at risk of exploding.

Mr. Hamner's eyes are red and swollen, which he attributes to the physical effects of chemicals spread across East Palestine.

But he and his wife told the BBC that their main wounds were unseen and psychological.

"I'm losing a lot of sleep. I've been to the doctor twice already, and I'm taking anxiety pills," he said.