Norfolk Southern plans to destroy evidence in train wreck, lawyers say
Norfolk Southern Corp.’s plan to remove wrecked railroad cars from a derailment that resulted in potentially toxic gas being released over an Ohio city will destroy evidence of the company’s liability, attorneys for residents say.
Attorneys in proposed class action lawsuits over the Feb. 3 accident asked a federal judge on Friday to stop the company from clearing the debris in East Palestine, Ohio. According to the lawyers, Norfolk Southern told them last week that they would move the 11 cars by March 1 and only allow two days for inspection.
Adam Gomez, an attorney for residents of eastern Palestine, said in a court filing that it was “common sense” to leave the wreck where it is for now. “These communities have questions and we need the evidence to answer them,” he said.
The derailment of the Illinois-to-Pennsylvania freight train released toxic chemicals and prompted a brief evacuation of residents. Norfolk Southern, along with the governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania, decided to initiate controlled burning of the chemicals to reduce the risk of explosion. But residents of eastern Palestine have since blamed the resulting cloud for reported headaches, lingering odors and pet deaths.
Norfolk Southern officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. In a Feb. 23 letter to residents’ attorneys, the company said that after March 1, “the rolling stock will be removed or otherwise destroyed to allow Norfolk Southern to continue its work on the site.”
Federal officials gave Norfolk Southern Sunday permission to resume hauling hazardous waste from the East Palestine site after giving assurances that the company’s handling of the spilled material met US Environmental Protection Agency approval. The train had about 20 cars that contained chemicals including vinyl chloride — which is known to cause cancer — as well as ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene, according to the EPA.
“Put simply, two days of access when Norfolk Southern will have had more than 24 days of access is not appropriate,” Gomez noted in the filing. U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson in Youngstown, Ohio, is overseeing cases related to the disaster.
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