East Palestine church organizes fundraising to equip residents with air purifiers

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn(RNS) — Since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February, spilling about a million pounds of hazardous chemicals, the town’s 4,700 residents have been anxious about the toxic substances that may be present in their water, air and soil.“People are still really nervous about the air and the water … especially young mothers; they are scared to death for their kids,” said Bob Helbeck, who leads the First Church of Christ in East Palestine.
This week, the church announced a fundraising drive to provide air purifiers to families and local businesses in partnership with the air purifying firm Germ Solutions USA.
Shortly after the disaster, the congregation began distributing air purifiers, equipping 500 families and 160 elementary, junior high and high school classrooms with the devices. The church hopes this fundraising will allow it to buy at least 2,500 more air purifiers.
After the disaster, some residents reported suffering from respiratory illnesses, nosebleeds, eye infections and rashes. Many families have left the town over health concerns, about 200, said pastor Helbeck, who has seen five church families leave the town since February.
The derailment led to a massive fire, and a week after the incident, authorities proceeded to do a “controlled burn” to prevent a potenti …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]