The recent train crash in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3 has been a continuous saga of major concerns, ranging from the chemical-laden freight that was passed over to the train’s own status. The deadly train, which carried more than 150 carriages, was 9,300 feet long, and weighed 18,000 tons. Toxic substances leaked and had to be dealt with. About two weeks after a train derailed in eastern Ohio, unleashing deadly chemicals and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate, lawsuits against Norfolk Southern have piled up.
Morgan & Morgan, the plaintiffs’ legal firm, filed a class-action suit in federal court in Ohio on Wednesday on behalf of two ladies who live in East Palestine, near the derailment. According to CBS News, the Ohio community of around 4,700 residents is located near the Pennsylvania state line, some 50 miles west of Pittsburgh.
“Norfolk Southern discharged more cancer-causing Vinyl Chloride into the environment in the course of a week than all industrial emitters combined did in the course of a year,” the suit alleges, claiming that the company chose to burn the vinyl chloride, turning it into a highly toxic gas, rather than disposing of it safely. “From chemicals that cause nausea and vomiting to a substance responsible for the majority of chemical warfare deaths during World War I, the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities are facing an unprecedented array of threats to their health,” Morgan & Morgan attorneys said in a statement.
According to the lawsuit, “thousands of individuals” in rural eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania were potentially exposed to the chemicals. According to CBS, at least six further lawsuits have been filed against the corporation, alleging negligence and seeking compensation for property damage, economic loss experienced by business owners, and exposure to toxic chemicals.
Yet, the poisoning of the environment by dangerous substances is not the only issue raised by the one-train incident. Others claim that the size and structure of the train by the railroad were to blame for the derailment.
According to CBS News, Norfolk Southern employees are now admitting that they had concerns about the train’s size before the disaster, and that those issues likely led to both the derailment and an earlier breakdown after the train departed Illinois on February 1. According to one employee, “we shouldn’t be running trains that are 150 car lengths long,” and “it’s quite likely the repercussions of the incident would have been averted” if the train wasn’t so heavy. According to two employees who spoke with Motherboard, the train may constitute a safety risk.
Sarah Feinberg, the former head of the Federal Railroad Administration, thinks that the train’s size would have been an issue, according to Wayne Dupree.
“I was not satisfied with the lengths of the trains, and they were 80 or 90 cars long,” she says of her tenure at the FRA. The derailed one had 151 cars. Even while adding more cars might make trains more efficient overall for railroad firms, it takes more time for staff to examine such a train. Shorter inspection times in the name of such efficiency, according to Jared Cassity, national legislative director for one of the Norfolk Southern workers unions, made it likely that the car that derailed earlier this month hadn’t been examined “in some time.”
More on this story via The Republic Brief:
The accident, which was followed by a controlled burn that released a toxic plume into the sky, was, in his words, “expected” given the extra length and weight as well as the presence of all of the hazardous materials. “That will happen again if nothing changes.” CONTINUE READING…