alex's, he didn't seem to do any favors for him. he said, correct me if i'm wrong, he said he changed his story multiple times in the stories he told his friend and that it was alex's voice on that -- that video, which is crucial. >> yeah. it was really interesting to watch it sort of unravel because the defense brought him in as a defense witness and then he started to talk about the sloppy murder scene. as you heard, the piece of skull that was found in the feed room. and all of these other points he made, these changing stories from alex to his friend of more than 35 years, ananderson. >> randy, appreciate it. a scene in town hall. ohio residents speak out. a fiery train crash in rural

ohio has left a town on edge, fearing for their health and their livelihoods. tonight the residents of east palestine question the people in power. ohio governor mike dewine. >> all we can do is give people the facts. as we test, we'll tell people exactly what we find. >> norfolk southern ceo. >> we will be here today. we will be tomorrow. and we will be here five years from now. >> we will not leave this community behind. >> it is the first televised town hall where residents share their stories. >> all i know is our town needs help. >> and demand the truth. good evening and welcome to

our cnn town hall on the cnn train disaster. tonight we will facilitate a communication between a community demanding accountability and the leaders charged with keeping them safe. in studio with me here are some of the residents of east palestine, ohio, joined by their neighbors along the ohio-pennsylvania border. they have spent the last 19 days frightened and frustrated after a hazardous derailment. they have been told it is safe to breathe the air and breathe the water, but they have seen thousands of dead fish in local creeks. and many of them have felt and continue to feel ill. tonight for the first time since that disaster residents are going to have the chance to directly question the ceo of norfolk southern and the epa administrator michael reagan and their governor, mike dewine.

some of the questions we have been hearing since we have been covering this story, how could this happen? is the air safe to breathe? is the water safe to drink? can the testing be trusted? we will let members of the community ask their questions in a moment. but first let's bring in cnn's jason carol also in east palestine, ohio, to bring us up to speed. jason? >> well, jake, today residents here in east palestine got a visit from former president donald trump. tomorrow transportation secretary pete buttigieg will get his chance to do the same. meanwhile, ohio's governor says that going forward, ohio's epa will independently test the municipal water. that will be done out of an abundance of caution. that will be done once a week. officials continue to say that the air and water is safe. but residents here on the ground have not believed that from the very beginning.

friday, february 3rd, flames of burning rail cars light up the night sky in east palestine, ohio. a norfolk southern freight train with 100 cars partially derailed, including nearly a dozen cars with hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical. >> residents evacuate as the blaze rages through the weekend. firefighters unable to get close due to the toxic chemicals and the possibility of an explosion. >> we had to weigh different risks with no great choices. >> monday, february 6th, the decision is made to conduct a controlled release. >> this allows us to control that operation and not have the car react and do it itself. >> a large black plume can be seen for miles. >> the detonation went perfect and the cars are safe. >> but residents are left wondering when it is safe to go

home. >> we're all trying to get home, honestly. but it's kind of -- because we can't get district answers because nobody knows. >> epa toasting shows air and municipal drinking water do not have dangerous levels of contaminants. the evacuation order is lifted and the railroad is reopened. but when they return, some residents complain of headaches, rashes and nausea. >> watch this. see that chemical pop out of the creek. this is distrusting. >> thousands of dead fish floating in local creeks like this one behind kathy reese's home. >> air wise i feel okay. water wise, no. there is just too many chemicals and stuff that they still don't want to identify completely. >> officials say daily tests continue to show the air and municipal drinking water are safe, but residents have little trust in them. >> my kids say, other people say what is the future of this

community? is it safe? >> anxious residents demand answers. >> the railroad did us wrong. so far they worked with us and they're fixing it. if that stops, i guarantee you i will be the first one in line to fight them. >> the epa ordered norfolk southern to complete all the cleanup or the agency will immediately take over the cleanup and seek for the company to pay triple the cost. >> in no way, shape or form will norfolk southern get off the hook for the mess they created. >> the governor of neighboring pennsylvania announced his state made a criminal referral to investigate the rail company. >> norfolk southern's corporate creed, incompetence and lack of care for our residents is absolutely unacceptable. >> and norfolk southern continues to vow to do what is right. >> we're going to see this through. and we're going to invest in this community. and we're going to do it in the right way. and we're going to do it at the

right time. >> on tuesday public officials visits homes and drinking from the tap to try and show the municipal water is safe. >> good for you. >> yet, what remains is a deep level of mistrust and lingering questions about who will be around years from now to make sure no one has gotten sick. >> we will go through this process with the citizens of east palestine for as long as it takes. >> we will stay here. we will continue to test. we will continue to do what needs to be done. >> jason caroll, cnn. >> thanks to jason. i appreciate it. i want to get to the east palestine residents who are here tonight joining us to answer their questions are ohio republican governor mike dewine along with the state health director and the head of the ohio epa. let's start with a question for those with me here in studio and

also those in east palestine. just a show of hands, raise your hand if you do not feel safe right now living in east palestine. if you do not feel safe living in east palestine, raise your hand. >> okay. so that's about four here in five in east palestine. let me start with you, jessica connor. you are a mother of three boys, a lifelong east palestine resident. tell governor dewine why you don't feel safe. >> thank you for being here, governor dewine, and thank you, jake, for the question. i think i don't feel safe because i don't know what the future holds for my town. this has a potential to really decimate a small town like us and we just bought our forever home last year, and i want to stay. my family is here. whether alive or buried. my ancestors helped build this town. i live on a road that was named

after my ancestors, and i want to know that it's safe to continue to live here and that people are going to want to come into our town to live as well. i just want to feel safe in my town again, and i don't feel safe right now. >> governor dewine? >> look, i fully understand -- well, i can't say i fully understand what you are going through because i didn't have that trauma inflicted upon me through absolutely no fault of anybody in the building. you know, it was two times, a train wreck and then the controlled release. so i understand that, you know, you're very, very concerned about what the future is. but what we're trying to do is to continue to give you the best information that we can. and i can tell you that the best people that we can find are in there. these are experts.

i don't ask you to take mike dewine's word for it. i'm not an expert. but we brought the best people we can find. we're testing the water. we will continue to test the air. as you know, we've got 20 monitors around town. we've gone into anybody that's asked us to go into their house. we've done that. what those tests are showing is that the air is good. you know, we were very careful in what we said about your municipal water. the experts said we think it's going to be good. we don't think it's going to be a problem, but we all agreed we needed to test it. so we did test it and got the results back before we told anyone that it is okay to drink the water. we also know there will be continuing concern about that. i don't blame you. i don't blame you at all. so we're going to test that water, you know, every single

week and we're going to continue to do it. i think the key and the mayor has said this to me and some residents have said this to me, a real concern that, you know, we're going to go away. when the tv cameras go away and the reporters go away, i think there is a concern that you're going to be left on your own, and my commitment to you is that's not going to be true. we're going to hang in there. we're going to stay there. we're going to do what needs to be done. i think, you know, your community is a great community. the people are resilient. they're strong. we are going to do everything we can so that you have a great future and your children have a great future. >> i appreciate that answer. i think my question is more what about those with private wells? i have self family members that live outside of that one mile zone. i have a private well that has not been tested, and we are on the list. we did call. we were assured that we would

get scheduled, you know. while we do live upstream and upwind, i do have family that does not. family in, you know, more south of east palestine. what can you tell people about testing their wells and the reassurances that you can provide for them? >> yeah. we're going to test those wells. i'm sorry your well has not been tested yet. but we will test anybody that wants their well tested. we're going to test that well. it is a matter of your safety, but it is also a matter of your piece of mind. so we're going to do it. >> someone else that raised their hand that they don't feel safe. tell the governor why you're concerned. because one of the things that i hear is the experts are saying everything is okay. and, yet, people are having physical responses, reactions. >> that's what my concern is, the water. like since i get home from

evacuating, i still using the water because i never know if they're telling the truth or it's a lie. i don't know. it sounds like they're lying. i didn't understand. that's why i'm not using the water until right now. i never -- i use bottled water. i can't. i'm not trusting what they're saying, so i don't know who is telling the truth. >> what do you say to that, governor dewine? because obviously there are a lot of people throughout history that have been told that things are okay and then they find out a year or two, three later that they weren't? >> yeah. >> yeah. we have been very careful not to tell anybody it is okay until we have evidence that it's okay. you know, we told people don't drink it. we think it's okay, but we're not going to know until we test

that. if you have your own individual well, we have told you don't drink it yet. don't drink it until you have not only tested it but until we get results back. and, look, there is still cleanup to do. there is still many things to do. so we're not telling you everything is perfect. no one can tell you that. but as we go through and do one thing at a time and approach this in a methodical way, we're going to tell you when things are clear. you know, look, there is big -- there's been a lot of noise on tv about, you know, when they went in and stuck the stick in the water. look, we knew that water was bad. that water is not good. that water is -- no one should be getting in that water, touching that water. and we're going to continue to monitor the different streams and the different creeks and until they are safe, you know, we're going to tell you they're

not safe. so we're not -- it's not rosy. we're not saying everything is good. but there are hundreds of people in your community who have come in from other places who are the experts. i'm not an expert. but i listen to what the experts say. we try to get absolutely the best experts who are there. you know, there is a comment made, jake, a moment ago about the fish. you know, those fish, as far as we can tell, the best evidence we have, were all killed, you know, within that first 24 hours. we're not aware, the ohio department of natural resources tells me they have no evidence there has been any fish killed beyond that first initial release that took place. so we're going to continue to monitor the water, the streams, the different -- the different creeks and continue to tell people what -- what the results that we have. >> let's go to my colleague sara who is with our other east

palestine residents. sara? >> jake, yes. we are here with a group of people who live here or are from here and have been dealing with this and worrying about this, not only for themselves but for their children as well. let me first start with courtney newman. you have a we are palestine shirt on. not only are you a mom but a teacher, correct? >> i'm an rbt. >> so you are in the schools. courtney, can you give me an idea of what your family has gone through. and in particular i hear your son is having some medical issues after this. >> yes. so i live a street over from the derailment. we were evacuated, stayed in a hotel for a week. since we have come home, my son has had bloody noses every day. i've had some skin issues. it's been -- it's been

overwhelming. staying in a hotel for a week, coming home, trying to clean my house and then go back to work on monday when school opens. >> and you have never seen this from your son or had any rashes? >> no. i'm having the skin issues. his is bloody noses. i took him to the pediatrician on friday. i was told they had no guidance from the cdc or health department. there was nothing they could do. i asked if they could do blood work, and they said no. >> they said no? >> he said, i don't know what to tell you. we're in the dark as much as you are. >> okay. but testing is the first thing you would do to try to come out of the dark, so i'm sure that needs to be addressed. and thank you so much for sharing this right now. i'm sorry to hear about your son. >> thank you. >> that is so concerning. josh hickman who is sitting here in the middle behind you, you are a long time east palestine

resident, and you have been living in a hotel with your family, similar to what we just heard from courtney. can you tell me what issues that you have been experiencing since this accident and explosion? >> yes. actually i was in the er just yesterday. i had to come back into town. i'm still in a hotel. i haven't returned home yet. it's not been deemed safe. and i have been staying in the hotel. and i had to come back into town for just a few different things. and even since the night of the derailment, i have had the symptoms, the sore threat, the irritated nose, the headaches. i have been dizzy. i have also -- what sparked me to go to the er was just an exacerbation of those same symptoms. and, you know, the bloody nose, when i blew my nose, the amount of blood that came out was alarming. and, so, i was -- so i sought treatment at the er yesterday. >> that's terrifying to hear,

that it's large amounts of blood. are you seeing the same thing? >> yes. my son's was pretty bad. and then one of my coworkers ended up having a bloody nose at work yesterday as well. >> wow. i want to get -- because of these two things that are very similar, and we're going to get to you all, i promise, but i wanted to take the information you gave to us to our doctor. he is standing by. we've heard a few things. one is extremely bloody noses, an excess of blood. so much so that an adult goes to the er and a child, his mother is very, very concerned. nausea, headaches, dizziness. what can you tell me? because we're hearing from courtney that the doctors say we're not going to test for it. so what can you tell them? what is it that you can say to them? what do they need to do? and what should they be

concerned about? >> well, thanks for that question. and let me say that our concern from the very start has been on the health and safety of the residents of east palestine. and we know that this has been a terrible trauma for that community. and for anyone who is having medical concerns and feels, for whatever reason, that they are not able to get the kind of evaluation that they think would be appropriate, we have a number of resources to make available. first we do understand that dealing with these kinds of potential environmental exposures or toxic exposures may not be in the wheel house of many physicians, especially many in primary care. we have help for them. they -- we -- we can connect them with toxicologists, people who are an expert in this field.

and i would encourage you to let your physician know, and we are working to let them know as well, that they can call the columbia county health department. they will work with the ohio department of health and we will get them directly in touch with trained medical toxicologists who can help them think through what some potential testing and evaluation might look like. for others, they may be seeking care because they don't have a primary care physician or they just need the support or evaluation of another physician. for that, we have stood up a clinic, an assessment clinic in east palestine. we have scheduling phone number that we have publicized and again that if you need to get that you can call the columbia county health department tomorrow and we'll get you scheduled in there to see a doctor for evaluation.

and if needed, if you don't have a primary care at home, to get you a primary care home, get you established with a physician who can then follow your care. or work with your physician to establish a plan of evaluation and care. >> doctor, thank you for that. i do want to give you all a chance to ask a question, if you have one for the doctor. this is a really good time for you to be able to just say what you need to say and try to get some answers. is there anyone that has a question for the doctor who said that basically to call the health department, get a toxicologist if you need one. you are having those issues with getting tests for your son. it sounds like you will need this. >> right, right. yeah. i was hoping just to get the baseline blood tests like they're doing for the first

responders and stuff, and he said it wouldn't show anything. and that's through akron children's is our pediatrician. >> would it show anything? >> that's a very, very good question. the kinds of chemicals that are involved here do not stay in the blood very long. they're in and out extremely quickly. so it is true that if we were to test blood for these -- they're called volatile organic compounds. if we were to test a person's blood now, after a potential exposure days ago, you almost certainly would not find those chemicals in the blood. however, every case is unique in terms of the symptoms people are having, the situation they might be encountering. and there may be a reason to test for other substances or to establish a baseline of certain

values from blood work. in other circumstances, blood work might not be the best option and there might be other testing or even careful observation. but in any circumstance where you have concerns about your health, we want to help you get to a physician who can help you with that evaluation and help you feel a sense of confidence and comfort that there is a medical provider working with you through this. >> doctor, similar to lead, which you can't find in the blood after some time often, can people still be sick if their blood is tested and it doesn't show up? can they still have symptoms from these chemicals? >> well, you know, here's what i'm able to say factually as of right now.

when we -- and people know this. when we have extensively evaluated the two mechanisms through which these chemicals are most likely to be taken in to a person's body in that community through the air, because they're very volatile and they get in the air very quickly and easily, or through contaminated water sources that they would drink, they -- the fact that the testing of those sources has really given the all clear is reassuring. it really suggests that there really is not an identifiable ongoing source. now having said that, every case, as i noted, is unique and individual and deserves careful scrutiny and a thorough examination, a thorough history and a discussion, an evaluation that could include one of either our state or national

toxicologists. and as i said, we can help your doctor make that connection. or you can schedule an appointment in our clinic, which is available in east palestine. >> thank you so much, doctor. and i will toss it back to jake. >> more questions from residents here and in ohio in just a moment, including the chance to question the ceo of norfolk southern, the train company, and the epa is also here when our town hall continues. we'll be right back. yeah. we get to stay here all weekend! when you stay at a vrbo... i call doing the door codede! ...the host doesn't stay with you. it looks exactly like the picture.. because without privacacy in your vacation home... it's a full log cabin guys. ...it isn't really a vacation... we can snuggle up by the fire. ...is it? wow, oh my- [birds chirping]

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to be a coincidence. welcome back to our cnn town hall on the toxic train disaster in east ohio. mike dewine, the head of the epa and the state health director. during the break, i asked you all how many of you have had health issues since this incident? four of the six of you raised your hand. ben, what was the issue you had? >> they said the area is contained.

the three of us, even, you know, the people around us, eyes were burning. i had a headache that lasted eight or nine hours. later that night i had projectile vomiting. >> tell us about the story from on your way here today? >> yes. on my way here, the tsa saw i was from east palestine. she pulled down her collar and had hives. said she was at the hospital earlier this week and she was probably going to leave work later today. even if it's 100% not from the train derailment, how are people supposed to have any confidence in that. every time somebody is sick that nagging idea, is it something related to this train accident. >> and you have a question for governor dewine. >> yeah, going with that, to give people more solid confidence, could you use more definitive statements in your answers?

mobile words leave to uneasy citizens with no confidence. when things are said like, maybe, potentially, might be. this is a really serious issue. and the words like that should have no part in this. >> i apologize. i have wibeen trying to tell people exactly what we know. we're not leaving. we're staying. we have the best experts. we're going to listen to the experts. i think i was pretty clear when i said -- pardon me? >> would you stay in east palestine? >> yes. >> until the cleanup is done, you'll stay with us, within the one mile? >> yes. yes. i have been there three times. >> for a few hours. will you stay overnight for a period of time? >> yeah. >> okay.

i'll hold you to that. >> i have tried to be as honest and straight as i could. we told you when we tested the water. we posted the results of that. >> what about the soil? >> there's been a massive amount of soil removed. they're not halfway done. they needed to -- >> that's 208 40 cubic yard trailers. there is no way they have moved out of there. no way. the numbers are not adding up. >> okay. let me ask anne who heads up the ohio epa about that. she's the one that knows about that. >> let's bring her in, yeah. >> yes. hi, jake. the cubic yards of soil, that is

on storage on site. you are absolutely right. it has not been moved off. the process is to excavate everything we know is contaminated and then we test it to see how contaminated it is and where it needs to be lawfully disposed. it will go off sight to storage as soon as we know what is in that soil. that's the process that's underway right now. >> governor dewine, one of the things you are hearing here is a public that does not always feel -- and not necessarily through any fault of yours, sir, but a public that does not feel like its government always tells it the truth, which is not necessarily your fault, but perhaps the fault of people telling you information and giving you rosie scenarios. i'm thinking right now about the first responders after 9/11. i'm thinking about flint, michigan after the crisis there.

people are wary and skeptical about what leaders tell them, democrats, republicans, independents. and i'm wondering how you cut through that as a leader, the challenge there. how do you get the people of east palestine to believe you? >> i guess that's a great question. look, i understand people's skepticism. i understand the confusion. i understand that they don't believe everything that they're told. but as a leader, i've done this for a long time. i haven't been your governor for a long time, but i have been in government for a long time. and the one thing i am is a straight shooter. i tell people, you know, what the facts are if we know what the facts are. we try to tell them the best information. sometimes we don't know all the information. sometimes we get facts that are

maybe wrong. i'm not going to convey to you or any other citizen something i feel is wrong and it's right. i will tell you what i know when i know it and i'm going to continue to do that. i think you judge someone by their whole record. and that's why i say, look, it is not so much important what we're doing now. the real question is your government and the people that represent you, are we going to be there for you in six months, in two years, in three years, in four years? i think i have a record of showing i do that. but i understand the skepticism. all i will say is i will try to do that every day to tell you what i know and to tell you what i don't know. >> also with me is the founder and ceo of a local sports broadcaster. born and raised in east palestine, he and his wife foster kids. dj, you have a question for the governor.

>> i do. it is great to hear you will be here in four to six years. we want to know if we will be here. there were so many businesses negatively affected by this derailment. what is your game plan? and how are you going to coach us through getting back on our feet after we already danced through covid and doing it without having to take out loans that we had nothing to do with this train derailment? >> well, it's interesting. you know, you talk about small business. i got a call yesterday from the president. he was in poland. and, you know, we talked about that very issue. if there is something that we could do to assist small business that we know is hurting in east palestine. i'm not sure what we can do, but we're certainly going to look at that and see if there is anything certainly that we can do.

i know it is a tough time. the thing we can do is get the cleanup done and people smart having more confidence. i think over time when you continue to do these things, the community will have more confidence and i think other people will have more confidence in regards to the community as well. so it's not easy. it's not going to happen overnight. >> right. we understand it's not going to happen overnight. our businesses were built overnight, but they were affected overnight. there are a lot of people in town, business owners as well, that need to get back in the game or get out of town. i would love to stay in my town, but obviously we need to be able to be open at full capacity. >> i understand, sir. i understand. >> let's go to sara in east palestine. >> we're in east palestine, just

to be clear. and we have folks here that have taken time out of their busy schedules and their sleep patterns to be with us. they are suffering, whether it be physical things or things to do with the economy. i will be talking to a couple of folks here. but first i want to go to grant. he is an attorney. he grew up here in east palestine. you have family here still. and you're looking at the possibility of putting together a lawsuit from what has happened. you wanted to say something, i think, to the governor. what is it? >> absolutely. first off, thank you for giving me this opportunity, jake, sara. myself and my legal team of mottley rice are honored with the opportunity. we did file paperwork this afternoon against norfolk southern for two class actions. governor, you keep stating that everything is safe. if it's safe, then how do you explain the virtual masses of people going to the medical

facility that are not being helped? you have people with diarrhea, digestive problems, puking, sore throats, extreme migraines that last forever. how do you explain this? because but for the fact that this accident happened, they wouldn't have these symptoms. they didn't have them before. but they do now. thank you. >> i never said everything is safe. what we told you is we have tested the water that goes through the village. it is safe. that is what the experts told us. we will continue to test it every week. we told you that we are checking the air. but, look, i don't -- i take everyone at face value. if you tell me that you have a problem and, you know, talked about some of you have been talking about your children. look, there is nothing worse in the world than seeing your children suffer and seeing

something wrong with your children. there is nothing worse. so i feel for you. i don't disregard that. i don't say that you are making that up. we set up this clinic with the very purpose to try to get the best experts in. i told my team to go back and make sure that we're examining people and we have doctor who is are doing that and we have doctors who are tied in to the experts. so i can't explain everything. and i'm not telling you everything is safe. and i'm not telling you that the medical problems that people are encountering are not real. all i can tell you is what we know. we know that that air is safe now. we know that the water is safe as far as to drink. we know the creeks are not safe, some of them, and we will continue to test those. we will continue to tell you what we know as we know it. but we're not minimizing anybody's medical problems.

in fact, we're trying to help with these medical problems. >> governor, i just want to follow up quickly with ann voguele to see if you could address what you just heard there. that there are lots of people going to the hospital that wouldn't be and wouldn't be feeling this way had it not been for this accident and are concerned that it isn't still safe. >> hi. h thank you for the question. i am not a doctor. i don't want to address the medical issues. but i want to follow up on what the governor just said. i just want to reassure people not just that we're going to stay here but that the ohio epa is here. we live here. we have the northeast district office. this is our day job. and a team of recovery experts that go around the state of ohio, that cleans up spills. so the message is not everything is okay. it's that we're going to work. we're going to do everything we

can in our power to restore east palestine to the condition that it was before this accident. so as the governor laid out, we have been testing municipal water. we will continue to test it. my team was out yesterday testing the east palestine municipal water. we will be doing that on a weekly basis. we have a plan in place. we've got new wells that we have dug just for example to make sure that we have early warning should the water become contaminated in the future. so please understand that plans are already underway for the future. as we laid out, there is this immediate emergency response phase. and then there is the remediation phase. we're starting to enter that long term remediation phase. we're working with the us epa. we're working to plan for the soil, for the water, for the long run. i want to echo what the governor said and please work with us, continue to express your

concerns. and i want you to know i am in east palestine, and i have been here for two and a half weeks and it's lovely. i want to thank the team for being so gracious to me and the ohio epa team. thank you. >> thank you, ann. we will come back to our panel. they have a lot more questions. >> thanks. i want to thank governor dewine and his administration for coming and facing the good people of east palestine and taking some questions. coming up next, they are the ones that will clean up. promising to make the company behind the toxic train disaster pay for all of it. we will talk to him next. plus, this community will get the chance to question the ceo of norfolk southern, the train company. stay with us.

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>> welcome back to a cnn special live town hall. i'm jake tapper. tonight, the epa, environmental protection agency, is on the ground in ohio.

it's stated mission is to make sure norfolk southern does everything to fix the toxic mess caused by one of its trains flying off the tracks. the move follows three weeks of angry pleas from residents of east palestine that the company, the agency, and the president of the united states are simply not doing enough. joining us now, the administrator of the environmental protection agency, michael regan. administrator regan, thank you so much for joining us. my first question is, you just issued a new order to, quote, ensure that norfolk southern pays for the mess that they have created. ohio senator sherrod brown said this effort could end up costing norfolk southern hundreds of millions of dollars. do you think that estimate is right? and how are you going to make sure that norfolk southern follows through on his promises? >> well, thank you for having me, jake. and the cost that norfolk southern has to, you know, absorb doesn't matter. they're going to fully pay for

all of the cleanup. and they're going to do it in a very prescribed manner. listen, epa has special authority for situations just like this, where we can compel companies who inflict trauma and cause environmental and health damage to communities, like norfolk southern has done, to completely clean up the mess that they've caused and pay for it. so, what they will do is they will provide to us a very prescriptive work plan on how they plan to clean the soil, the water, and the debris up, in a very prescribed manner, on a specific timeframe. they will also reimburse epa for providing all of the residents of east palestine cleaning service, interior and exterior, two homes and businesses. and we will compel norfolk southern to show up at epa's request to public meetings, and explain and talk to the residents about what they're doing during this process. and listen, if norfolk southern

decides they don't want to follow the order, epa will step in. there's no break-in service, perform these duties, while fining the company up to $70,000 a day. and then will recoup our cost on the back and. and the law gives us the authority to charge norfolk southern up to three times the amount that the cleanup will cost us. so, there are a lot of incentives built in here in this order to compel the company to clean up their mass. >> i want to bring back dj yokley from east palestine. he has kids at home, like many of those with us today. do you have a question for administrator reagan? >> yes, mr. reagan, obviously we spent some time yesterday together. i appreciate that time. and i was really excited to hear that you have kids as well. so i guess my question is, if you were in our shoes, would you feel one hunted percent safe, based on everything you've heard long term and short term to raise your kids and our community? >> thank you for the question.

and it's good to see you again. and thank you for hosting yesterday. you know, my wife asked me that question every single day for the past week about the children and the families in your community. and yes, i would, based on the evidence we have. listen, we have used very -- aerial high tech capabilities. an airplane that is doing air quality monitoring of the community. we have a mobile van that is moving in and out of the community. we have placed air quality monitors strategically all around the community. and we have been an over 550 homes testing the indoor air quality. what the science tells us is that we haven't had any readings that are above certain levels that would cause adverse health impacts. and you know, we have been supporting the state, the state has a very prescriptive methodology, to test the water. and so the state, if the state is given a greenlight to the

municipal water, and the state has tested certain private wells and given that green light, then we believe that the science says that water is safe. i understand the skepticism, as a father. i'm a father first and foremost. i understand the skepticism. but what i can tell you is what the science tells us. and these readings are indicating that there are safe levels. >> administrator regan, one expert says that vinyl chloride disappears from the air pretty quickly. and exposure might have been really acute for the citizens of east palestine that first night, but dwindled since then. i'm wondering, how soon did epa originally test the air? and are you concerned that there might have been toxic exposure in that first 24, 48-hour period that isn't being, isn't registering in your tests? >> well, jake, what i can tell you is the u.s. epa and the state epa and all of the

emergency responders, and i'm very grateful to them urgency responders, because based on their actions, we didn't see any loss of life. epa, the u.s. epa, we were on site just hours after the derailment. and we have been there since. and we've been testing the air. and yes, we saw a spike in the beginning. but since that spike has dissipated, the air quality readings have been, you know, below that threshold. so, all i can do is really be very transparent and say that we trust the technology and the measurements. but if anyone, and i can tell anyone that is having any kind of health symptoms to follow the doctors orders, show up, have these conversations with your local health authorities. because we all want to get to the bottom of this. we want to connect all of these dots. and we want to make this community hole. and i want to hold norfolk southern accountable, so this community can be whole once

again. >> i will say, that a lot of individuals here say they have gone to the doctor, they have gone to the clinic, and the clinic seems completely unprepared for a situation like this. but you just mentioned norfolk southern. and i know you have to go. we're gonna be talking to the ceo of norfolk southern momentarily. what questions do you want to ask him? >> i don't have any questions for the ceo of norfolk southern. i have some orders for the company. and the orders are that the company will comply with our order, which compels them to take full responsibility, full accountability for the trauma they've inflicted on this community and the damage they've caused. and epa will use all of its authority to do so. so, i'm hopeful that the company will comply with our order in a very orderly fashion, timely fashion, the efficient for the information we're looking for. because we want to clean this mess off as quickly as possible.

people of east palestine deserve better. they deserve immediate action. and epa is going to do its part to ensure that we stand by and stand with this community. >> administrator regan, thank you very much for your time this evening. you just heard from the man overseeing the federal cleanup and east palestine. next, you're gonna hear from the man in the government ordered just now to pay for every single scent of the cost, the ceo of norfolk southern is going to be here and no question is off limits. stay with us. get refunds.com powered by innovation refunds can help your business get a payroll tax refund, even if you got ppp and it only takes ght minutes to qualify. i went on their website, uploaded everything, and i was blown away by what they could do.

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>> you're watching cnn live special town hall. toxic train disaster, ohio residents speak out. in just minutes, right here on cnn, the ceo of norfolk southern will face questions live from east palestine residents, the people in the ohio town where one of his trains skidded off the tracks due to rosters results. nearly three weeks after the strained railed, anger is running high, so it's fear. many of the 47 people who live in this town worry that they're sick because of the crash. and they're worried about the