East Palestine
I began covering several families in East Palestine, Ohio following the derailment and explosion of a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals in February, 2023 for Ideastream Public Media and Belt Magazine.
I followed several families in the area throughout the year and documented how the disaster upended their lives. One family had to evacuate all the cattle from their farm on the night of the explosion, another stayed at a relatives home in West Virginia, and a mother, her grown daughter, and their cat spent 6 months sharing a hotel room.
The East Palestine Bulldogs take the field against Columbiana High School. October, 2023.
Downtown East Palestine in the days after the tracks reopened in February 2023.
Clean up crews work in Sulphur Run. February 2023.
East Palestine mayor, Trent Conaway addresses the media during a town hall meeting at East Palestine High School. February, 2023.
Rachel Wagoner raises sheep and cattle at her farm in Darlington, Pennsylvania, about three miles from the site of the Feb. 3, 2023, toxic train derailment.
Rachel Wagoner of Tall Pines Farm in Darlington, Pennsylvania, just across the border from East Palestine, drives to their livestock pasture on Jan. 31, 2024.
Volunteers distribute bottled water on Market Street in East Palestine.
Water fountains locked out in East Palestine High School.
Courtney Miller tosses a minnow trap into Sulphur Run, the heavily contaminated creek that runs behind her house. She caught no living fish.
Courtney Miller's home.
Supporters of Donald Trump cheer for his motorcade during the former president's visit to East Palestine on Feb. 22, 2023.
The Sovich home on East Taggart Street is kitty corner from one of the entrances to the derailment site. A steady stream of trucks and heavy equipment rumble down the street all day. On rainy days, the air is thick and nauseating.
Renee Funkhouser sits on her bed in a hotel room in North Lima. She counts her blessings, but she’s frustrated by the way that all of the little disruptions, like the 15 minutes added to her commute to work, all add up. To her, the Norfolk Southern train derailment stings differently than something like a natural disaster would. “This could have been prevented,” Renee says.
Mary Lou is grateful that they are living somewhere safe, but the disruption to their lives has taken a toll. She misses the simple things. Mary Lou is an avid cook and she loves cooking for her relatives, something that she hasn’t been able to do for months. She’s also tired of eating out. Living in a hotel and not knowing when they’re going to leave is hard. “There are so many things all balled up together. It’s tough,” she said.
Mary Lou Sovich in the living room of her home in East Palestine, Ohio, on Oct. 12, 2023. While living in a hotel, Sovich longed to return home and cook for friends and family, something she loved to do. But by the time she returned home, she'd grown accustomed to eating out.
Renee Funkhouser with her cat, Ashes, in the kitchen of her East Palestine home on Jan. 31, 2024. Renee, her mother, Mary Lou Sovich, and Ashes spent six months living in a pet-friendly hotel in North Lima, Ohio, while cleanup efforts took place.
Hanna Gaither of Newcastle, Ohio, and Miles McCoy (in her lap) ride down a slide at the East Palestine Street Fair on May 27, 2023. The annual Memorial Day Celebration was paid for by Norfolk Southern.
The contractor entrance to the clean up site in East Palestine.
Greg and Traci check over the girls’ school work. They went through this during COVID, but it’s different this time because there’s less support from teachers.
Traci Mascher drives her granddaughters Brayla, Kayton and Raylix to a creek to investigate the body of a dead skunk that the girls found floating in the water. The Mascher family evacuated to a relative's house in West Virginia through the summer of 2023.
A view down Market Street in East Palestine, Ohio.