East Palestine Mayor: FEMA Help ‘a Little Late’ — HHS Should Do Studies and We Need Testing for at Least a Decade

On Saturday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” East Palestine, Ohio Mayor Trent Conaway reacted to FEMA sending federal resources to the city by stating that while he’s glad they’re coming, “it’s a little late.” He also called for testing for at least the next decade and for the Department of Health and Human Services to start doing studies.

Conaway said, “I guess they’re finally showing up, but I think it’s a little late. I’m glad they’re coming, but I think they should have been here long before this.”

He added, “They’ve told us since there’s a responsible party, this isn’t FEMA’s job, they’re more of a natural disaster-type agency. Our residents need help. Norfolk Southern so far has been paying for everything, but if that stops, we’re definitely going to need federal support, and, in my opinion, they should have been early with clinics and stuff setting up things for our village residents.”

Conaway concluded, “As far as I’m concerned, they should have to test for a minimum over the next ten years anybody who wants a test. And we need to get the HHS in here and start doing some studies and make — document everything so we have data-driven evidence about our residents.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett