Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, are speaking out while dealing with the devastating aftermath of a train derailment that caused toxic chemicals to pollute the town's environment.
OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT CAUSES MASSIVE FIRE, FORCES VILLAGE EVACUATION
Despite EPA officials and the Biden administration claiming the town is safe to inhabit, many residents are apprehensive of these claims due to allegedly seeing and feeling the effects of the toxicity permeate their community.
"It makes me feel infuriated," said East Palestine resident Mike McKim told "Jesse Watters Primetime" in response to officials' guidance regarding the safety of the town.
"The only way I'm going to feel good about anything that's going on here is when they come down off of their pedestals. Come to East Palestine, drink the water, bring their kids, make baby formula, and take their kids. Play basketball right where I'm at, right here I'm at ground zero practically right now. I don't feel safe. I haven't seen any groundwater or ground testing as far as my kids can go play basketball outside. My kids can ride on bicycles, play in puddles. I haven't seen any of it. I want to see that. And until I see that, I don't believe any of it," said McKim.
Despite the reported testing, community members have described sightings of dead animals and fish in local waterways. Ohio Sen. JD Vance ventured to the town to scope out the damage caused and chemicals can be seen stirred up in the creek he visited.
Lenny Glaven, another East Palestine resident, said the creek the senator visited was close to his house. Glaven described how Vance seeing those chemicals in the water was "surreal."
"That's the same creek that, you know, I can access from my house right on that side of town. I can walk from my house through the park, through the walking trail. That trail actually goes down along that trail. My three kids, my dog, my wife. We've walked that many times. And if you keep going to the end of it, it's my parents right at the bottom of that hill," he Glaven.
McKim went on to say how he wants to be able to "trust" the health reports and "believe" everything is well going forward with the town.
"I want to see the railroad tycoons come down here. They created this mess. They created the problem. You have to be liable for the problem that you created. Get down here. Apologize to everybody. That would be a good start. It really would be. But I don't think they have the balls to do it," says McKim.
