Residents of East Palestine should fear the toxic train derailment that’s rocked the small Ohio town — because it’s an “explosion of cancers waiting to happen,” a lawyer who reps sickened 9/11 victims told The Post on Wednesday.
Attorney Michael Barasch issued the dire warning after the devastating Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine exposed locals to a slew of spilled hazardous materials, sparking fears about the safety of air and drinking water.
“Be afraid, very afraid,” Barasch said of the potential health risks that lie ahead
“This is an explosion of cancers waiting to happen. And you won’t see it for years — sometimes 5, 10, 20 years. This is scary stuff.”
The attorney, whose firm has represented tens of thousands of 9/11 victims — including many diagnosed with cancer years after consuming toxic dust at Ground Zero — said he didn’t believe the Environmental Protection Agency’s assurances the air and drinking water were once again safe after the toxic spill.
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“It sent shivers down my spine when the EPA told residents of East Palestine the air was safe to breathe,” Barasch said. “That’s exactly what EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman told downtown New Yorkers [after 9/11]. It wasn’t safe at all.”
He added: “If the World Trade Center attacks taught us anything, it’s that 9/11 didn’t end on 9/11.”
Barasch said residents were right to question the air and water quality as he called for scientists independent of the EPA to go in to carry out tests.
“When I hear the EPA now say the air is safe. I don’t believe them,” he said.
“I’ve seen the pictures of the bubbling in the water. I’ve seen the pictures of the dead animals. I wouldn’t drink that water, would you?
“I urge everyone: Protect yourselves, protect your families. Wait until there is independent scientific evidence.”
In East Palestine, officials carried out a “controlled burn” to avoid an explosion after 1.1 million pounds of vinyl chloride spilled out in the derailment, alongside butyl acrylate and isobutylene.
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Vinyl chloride has already been linked to liver, brain and lung cancers, and scientists recently told The Post there’s no knowing what the result of burning the combination of toxic chemicals which spilled would be.
Toxic dust at the 9/11 site was a stew of many hazardous materials, including cement dust, asbestos, and heavy metals poisonous to the human body and brain such as lead, mercury and cadmium. Barasch said new cancers are still being linked to toxic dust found at Ground Zero — some 22 years later.
The lawyer urged residents not to agree to any potential compensation settlements that rail company Norfolk Southern could offer so they can seek out money if they do fall seriously ill in the years to come.
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“The statute of limitations within which to sue begins with the discovery of an illness. It’s way too soon to know if you’ll be sick,” he said.
“If 9/11 taught us anything, these cancers don’t come up for years.”
“Do not sign away your legal right,” he added.
Barasch also called for the federal government to step up after the East Palestine disaster and create a non-adversarial fund and health care system — similar to the one set up after 9/11 so residents can obtain free monitoring in the years to come.
“These people are going to need help and they deserve it, it’s not their fault,” he said.
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