White House defends response to Ohio toxic train derailment

By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is defending its response to a freight train derailment in Ohio that left toxic chemicals spilled or burned off, even as local leaders and members of Congress demanded that more be done. The administration says it has “mobilized a robust, multi-agency effort” to support people in East Palestine, Ohio, since the Feb. 3 derailment. The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency visited the site Thursday, walking along a creek that still reeks of chemicals as he sought to reassure skeptical residents that the water is fit for drinking and the air safe to breathe.