Huge amounts of hazardous materials pass through Midwest every day. How safe are residents?

USA TODAY NETWORK

Louisville Courier Journal

This article required months of research and collaboration from Louisville, KY, journalist Connor Giffin and colleagues.

Reporters Sarah Bowman, Connor Giffin, Keith Matheny, Patricia Newberry, Katherine Oung, Karl Schneider and Jennifer Shaffer contributed to this story.

I was quoted at the end. - Monica E. Unseld, Ph. D, MPH

“We have to ask, ‘how much is the human life worth? And do we even need some of these dangerous chemicals going through our communities anyway?’” said Monica Unseld, who holds advanced degrees in biology and public health and now leads Until Justice Data Partners in Louisville.

“This isn’t NIMBY,” she said. “This is, ‘I don’t want a bomb train behind my house, or going past my child’s school.’”