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Man living near East Palestine train derailment site dealing with debris on his property

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — A man living near the East Palestine train derailment site is dealing with a lot of debris on his property.

Jerry Corbin lives 1.4 miles from the site. He said his backyard is covered in black debris that looks like soot, but it’s not. More concerning, Corbin told Channel 11 the blast cap was left lying in his grass. He said the black tube was used to ignite the chemical burn of the volatile train cars carrying toxic chemicals.

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“I want it out,” Jerry Corbin tells Channel 11.  “I want them to pick it up and get it out. I didn’t put it there, it’s not mine, and I want it out of there.”

He’s not even sure what the black debris is that looks like ash and litters his yard and covers his roof. He told Channel 11 he asked for it to be analyzed. Initially he was told it wasn’t from the train derailment.  Corbin said it wasn’t there before the controlled burn, but it appeared immediately afterwards.

“Large pieces,” Corbin added.  “It has some substance to it, it’s not like regular ash. It could be plastic. I don’t know. The skin off the cars?”

As for that blasting cap, it has a wire and is filled with cotton.

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“It’s not real big,” Corbin said.  “It would blow your hand off.  I contacted someone in the military and asked him about it. He said don’t have any static electricity around it, don’t drop it.”

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Corbin is certainly concerned about his soil, the air, his water and his health. It’s a fear he says he shares with so many of his neighbors.

“I think everyone in East Palestine has that fear that’s just going to take a whistle to bring it out.”

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