By the late 1970's I was diagnosed as "allergic to everything." What that really meant is that the experts had no idea what was wrong with me. They sent me off to cope with it on my own as best I could. Today, I'm trying to help others similarly situated with the information I could have used years ago.

Ever since the Clean Air Act came around in 1970, successful enforcement brought lower pollution levels to communities across the nation. Not all of them, though. "Researchers have found that some of the most persistently harmful air in America is present in communities that are predominantly made up of people of color or those with low incomes."

It's perfectly safe, EPA officials lied. Shortly after the unbelievably toxic train derailment disaster which struck East Palestine, Ohio, and surrounding communities, federal authorities lifted the evacuation order. They told everyone who lived near ground zero that it was safe to move back in, even though "many homes held on to an odd odor."

A freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed and caught fire near East Palestine, Ohio. Officials made the controversial decision to try a "controlled burn." Right or wrong, that approach sent vinyl chloride, ethylhexyl acrylate and butyl acrylate spewing over a three county area. Included in the toxic compounds released was "phosgene." During World War I they called that "mustard gas." Because they physically happen to be located near the site of the toxic chemical disaster, Case Western Reserve University researchers were on the scene immediately. They got one of the research grants to continue monitoring exposure victims.

The current way of determining a "safe" level of toxicity misses the fact that "for a staggering array of common compounds, no dose may be safe." The pernicious and dangerous health effects could end up killing off the whole human race.

There's a silver lining to East Palestine, Ohio's toxic black cloud. Six separate grants are being awarded to study the long term health effects. That means the medical community will finally get solid facts to work with.