S6 Ep. 32: The East Palestine Train Derailment and Your Health: Kerri Arsenault on the Pervasive and Ongoing Risks of Dioxin

Writer Kerri Arsenault joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the recent derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. Arsenault is the author of Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains, an investigative memoir about her hometown, Mexico, Maine, where a paper mill released dioxins into the environment for decades. Arsenault talks about the effect dioxins had on Mexico, which was nicknamed “Cancer Valley,” as well as the history of dioxin poisonings in America. She discusses how government and industry responses in East Palestine parallel the cover-up in her hometown. She also reads from the book. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Kerri Arsenault Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains Others: “Texas to New Jersey: Tracking the Toxic Chemicals in the Ohio Train Inferno” by Hiroko Tabuchi “Whose Test Results Should East Palestine Believe?” by Gabrielle Gurley  “Leaked audio reveals U.S. rail workers were told to skip inspections as Ohio crash prompts scrutiny to industry” by Michael Sainato White Noise by Don DeLillo “Living and Breathing on the Front Line of a Toxic Chemical Zone” by Eric Lipton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices