By Ricardo Lezama 22/feb/2023
La Cartita
Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Norfolk Southern Railway Company, alleging their negligence caused a train derailment that resulted in the evacuation of thousands of people and the potential release of toxic chemicals into the air. The lawsuit alleges that the derailment was due to negligence on the part of the railway company, defects in the track system, or flaws in the cars.
The derailment occurred near the Pennsylvania state line and involved 100 railcars, 20 of which were carrying hazardous materials. Evacuations and clean-up efforts following have been completed and residents were allowed to return home after days of evacuation under the threat of arrest, due to safety concerns around toxic chemical release.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that a mechanical issue with a rail car axle may have caused the crash, though their investigation is still ongoing.
Environmental officials deployed air and water quality monitors to ensure that chemicals – associated with an increased risk of cancer – were not being released into the community.
The clean-up of hazardous materials can be expensive, and there is worry that waterways or other facets of the environment may have been damaged.
Last year, 18 derailments involving hazardous materials caused $41.6 million worth of damage, and the cost of this crash could potentially be even greater.