EAST PALESTINE, Ohio—Until Feb. 3, most Americans had never heard of East Palestine, the village of 4,700 residents in eastern Ohio about a mile from the Pennsylvania border. Most people could not even identify it on a map, or accurately pronounce it, lifelong resident Gregory Mascher admitted.
“East Pali-steen, not East Pali-stine,” Mascher said with a grin.
When people in this close-knit community woke up on Feb. 3, they didn’t know that life would abruptly change that evening when a 151-car freight train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed.
Eleven of the 38 cars that derailed contained hazardous chemicals, according to the National Transportation Safety Board….