The East Palestine Train Derailment Health Research Study is designed to investigate the long-term health of those who may have been impacted by the train derailment that occurred in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, 2023.
This research study is open to anyone who:
Anyone who is 8-17 years old must have a parent or primary caregiver participate as well.
Everyone will be asked to complete a health survey once a year. The health survey will take about 30 minutes for adults to complete and 15 minutes for children. There may also be additional brief health surveys throughout the year that would take less than 5 minutes to complete. Most will be asked to visit a nearby clinic for health measures. The clinic visit will take about 30-45 minutes.
Cambridge, Ohio is the comparison community for East Palestine, Ohio. Cambridge residents are the comparison community because they are similar to East Palestine residents but did not directly experience the train derailment. The role of Cambridge residents is very important to our understanding the potential health impacts from the disaster.
Yes! The research team will keep your information secure and confidential. Data will only be shared with the public as group-level summary reports.
The Health Research Study is led by University of Kentucky, in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh and local community partners The Way Station and the East Liverpool City Hospital/East Palestine Clinic. The study is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Health Research Study is informed by a local Community Advisory Board, a Clinical & Public Health Taskforce, and Scientific Advisory Board.
Study findings will be shared with the community through public summaries, periodic meetings, and our website with an emphasis on plain-language communication. Public results will describe overall patterns and not individual responses.
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On February 2, 2026, the East Palestine Train Derailment Health Research Program led a community forum, to explain the goals of the health research program and field questions as residents shared experiences, voiced concerns and highlighted ongoing health, water, environmental, and community needs.
Feedback was gathered to help guide ongoing research, inform public health responses, and include the community in the broader recovery and health research efforts.