Workers who reported headaches and nausea — while shooting compressed air into the creek bed, which releases chemicals from the sediment and water — were sent back to their hotels to rest, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press about their illnesses.

The findings were not released to the public last spring, despite residents' concerns about the potential health effects of exposure to the long list of chemicals that spilled and burned after the disaster. The workers' symptoms, as described in the report, are consistent with what Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workers going door-to-door in town had reported shortly after the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment.

Since then some residents have also reported unexplained rashes, asthma and other respiratory problems, and serious diseases including male breast cancer.

Researchers are still determining how many of those health problems can be linked to the derailment and how the disaster will impact the long-term health of residents in the area near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Many wonder whether there will be cancer clusters down the road, which of course won't be clear for years.

In the meantime, residents have until Aug. 22 to decide whether to accept up to $25,000 — as part of a $600 million class action settlement with the railroad to compensate them for any future health problems. Accepting that money though means giving up the right to sue later, when the cost of health care coverage and specific treatments needed will become more clear.

Norfolk Southern spokesperson Heather Garcia said none of the workers who got sick during the cleanup "reported lingering or long-term symptoms."

"The health and safety of our employees, contractors, and the community has been paramount throughout the recovery in East Palestine," Garcia said.