Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan and Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine drank tap water at a home in East Palestine together Tuesday, according to C-SPAN, more than two weeks after the disastrous train derailment nearby.
Regan claimed during his Thursday visit to East Palestine that drinking water in the area was safe, though the Ohio Department of Health urged the minority of residents using private wells to drink bottled water prior to testing, CBS News reported.
As Regan and DeWine drank water poured from a residential tap in the town Tuesday, the EPA administrator said, “That’s pretty good water.”
Related: Corporate Bonds May Explain Media Coverage Of The Toxic Ohio Train Derailment Disaster
The Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment, which resulted in a huge fire, spilled chemicals including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate.
On Thursday, Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance said, “I think if the EPA administrator wants to stand here and tell people that the tap water is safe, by all means, they should be willing to drink it.
Former President Donald Trump arrived in Ohio Wednesday for a visit to East Palestine, according to Fox 8, set to give the town pallets of water and cleaning supplies. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to visit Thursday, NBC News reported.
“We’re gonna continue to test the village water every week,” DeWine said Thursday. “This is gonna be an ongoing process.”
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