‘Somebody could have gotten killed’ | Law firm hosts town halls in Orange to hear from concerned citizens after chemical leak
‘Somebody could have gotten killed’ | Law firm hosts town halls in Orange to hear from concerned citizens after chemical leak
A chemical leak at Eagle Railcar Services sent two dozen people to the hospital on July 18.
ORANGE, Texas — A week after a chemical leak in West Orange that sent two dozen people to the hospital, a law firm hosted three town halls as it prepares to file a class action lawsuit.
Brent Coon & Associates hosted the town halls at the Orange Train Depot Museum Thursday night to hear from concerned residents.
Authorities have confirmed Eagle Railcar Services released ethyl acrylate while flaring a railcar.
Dozens of people went to the town halls to share how they were impacted with many saying they are still feeling major health effects.
“Every time this happens it was something that happened that was readily avoidable,” said Brent Coon, founder of Brent Coon & Associates.
Crystall Sillers and her children live right next door to Eagle Railcar Services and she says they’re still feeling effects.
“We were blocking off window sills so the smell wouldn’t come in,” Sillers said. “Lots of headaches throughout the day.”
Sillers is one of dozens who consulted with a doctor after the ethyl acrylate was released into the air.
“We were one of the families that did the virtual doctor,” she said.
People with pre-exisiting medical condition symptoms say they felt the biggest impact.
“I got COPD and that just activated it worse. I couldn’t breathe and I still can’t breathe. It feels like something sitting on my chest. I keep coughing all the time. It’s really bad,” said Ronnie Smith, an affected resident.
Smith, like many others at the town halls, says he wants to see those responsible for the leak held accountable.
“Somebody could have gotten killed, you know?” Smith said.
“The town halls we’re having out here are proving to be very beneficial. We’re getting a very strong turnout from the community,” said Coon.
Coon says he’s learning more and more about the damage last week’s leak caused to the public.
“We’re finding out the true extent of the medical side of it. And just in our first town hall meeting today, we had probably half of the people in this room going to the hospital,” Coon told 12News. “There was a lot more medical impact to the community here than what anybody was admitting to early on.”
On Friday Coon and his team along with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will head to the site where the chemical was released.
They’ll be investigating exactly what happened as they look to move forward with the lawsuit.
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