Five days after a train carrying vinyl chloride derailed and exploded near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, crews ignited a controlled burn of toxic chemicals to prevent a much more dangerous explosion.

Thousands in East Palestine, a town of about 5,000 people, evacuated, and officials warned the controlled burn would create a phosgene and hydrogen chloride plume across the region. Phosgene is a highly toxic gas that can cause vomiting and breathing trouble, and was used as a weapon in the first world war.

A number of East Palestine residents have reached out to consumer advocate Erin Brockovich with environmental concerns following the Ohio train derailment, she said in an interview with NewsNation.

Brockovich told NewsNation she’s received at least 100 emails about Ohio so far, with some of the residents telling her the fish in local bodies of water are dying.

An Ohio mayor had strong words for rail operator Norfolk Southern Railway, promising that he would hold the company accountable as East Palestine residents returned home for the first time since a train hauling chemicals derailed and later sent up a toxic plume of smoke last week. 

Trent Conaway, East Palestine's mayor, acknowledged that his community remains frustrated due to lingering odors and promised the village is "not just taking the word" of Norfolk Southern Railway and has Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representatives involved in air testing.