Still ‘very angry’ and ‘sick.’ Norfolk Southern must do right by East Palestine

Far fewer camera crews and reporters can be found in East Palestine since the days after a Norfolk Southern freight train stretching nearly 2 miles derailed and 100,000 gallons of hazardous chemicals it transported were burned.

Black plumes filled the air. Residents were sickened and more than 43,000 fish and other animals were killed.

The nation’s attention has waned, but the needs of the people impacted by the derailment persists. So has the call to strengthen regulations to prevent other tragedies as trains get bigger and longer and the size of the crews on board manning them diminish.

According to the Association of American Railroads, “freight railroad crew sizes have been reduced from five to three to two people pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with labor unions under the procedures outlined in the Railway Labor Act.”

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw reiterated his pledge ‘to do the right thing’ in East Palestine repeatedly during a meeting with the Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board and USA TODAY Network Ohio reporters and editors.

He also gave testimony about the derailment last week at the Ohio Statehouse.

Ohioans and elected officials here and in Washington, D.C., must see that the company keeps Shaw to his pledge to heal the people of East Palestine and prevent future tragedies.

Thus far, not enough has been done. — The right thing would also be to put action to Shaw’s pledge to help East Palestine residents still left in limbo two months after the nightmarish event.

— The right thing would be for the powerful rail industry to work earnestly with Ohio’s U.S. senators — Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance — to get safety, inspections and investment provisions in their bipartisan Railway Safety Act approved.

Shaw says he agrees with much of

the proposed legislation. He should use his influence to get the right thing done.

MAKING RESIDENTS WHOLE

Shaw, a frequent visitor to East Palestine, told our board that community members are happy with what Norfolk Southern has done so far including making donations to the East Palestine schools and excavating soil from under the train tracks.

“We’ve got 19,700 employees that really care deeply about our response in East Palestine and I do too. That’s how I know we’re going to do the right things,” he said during the meeting. “You’re starting to see it on the ground. Just (three) weeks ago, we hosted an Easter egg hunt in the City Park, which is a really big deal in East Palestine… It was better attended than it was last year.”

Reached by phone, Brown, who last week visited East Palestine for the fourth time since the derailment, says the picture is not as sunny as the one painted by Shaw and other Norfolk Southern officials.

“Too many people are still getting sick. Too many worry about their farms or even their gardens,” Brown said. “They worry about their homes losing value. They worry about what happens after two or five or 10 years of breathing this stuff.”

Shaw, who earned nearly $9.8 million in total compensation in 2022, says the railroad has already spent $30 million to support community organizations and families.

He says that the money given out is just a “down payment.”

The company met with Ohio Attorney General Yost, who filed a 58-count lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, and stakeholders to establish three funds for impacted people.

The funds would help with property valuation decreases, health care and water monitoring.

The amount of those funds and who will be eligible for assistance has not been established. These details must be worked out immediately.

PEOPLE ARE HURTING NOW.

The right thing to do

Emily Wright, development director of River Valley Organizing, a citizen based community organization, told a member of our board that while some city leaders and elected officials are pleased with the progress Norfolk Southern has made, that is far from the norm.

“The vast majority of people we have talked to are very angry at the railroad,” said Wright, who lives in Columbiana, about six miles from the derailment site.

She said the incident was at first downplayed.

“More than the train derailing itself, what happened prior (to that) made it happen — deregulation and all those things — and then what’s not happening,” Wright said.

River Valley Organizing reaches about 41,000 people annually through its voter engagement, mass incarceration, education and democracy, environmental justice, and drug policy efforts.

While many residents have returned to their homes, hundreds are still living in temporary housing without proper compensation for the displacements, Wright said.

They are concerned about their health and the environment. Wright said a colleague recently found oil slicks in waterways. Families and businesses are struggling and expect more from Norfolk Southern and the EPA.

“Farms are very (plentiful) around us here. So that’s a huge issue for people that have crops. And even if their land is OK, unfortunately people are scared to get food now from them. These farms are losing their business,” Wright said.

PREVENTING FUTURE DERAILMENTS

The Vance and Brown Railroad Safety Act would not make East Palestine residents whole, but it could help reverse some of the harm done by years of deregulation at the price of people.

It includes common-sense requirements most people would assume were already in place.

As reported by the Dispatch, the federal bill would:

— Require trains carrying hazardous materials to give advance notice to states, even if they aren’t high-hazardous flammable trains.

— Require trains with these materials on board to be scanned by hot bearing detectors every 10 miles.

— Update inspection rules and ensure they’re conducted by qualified rail car inspectors.

— Increase the maximum fine for railroads that break the rules to 1% of their annual operating income, instead of $225,000.

— Increases HAZMAT registration fees paid by railroads to fund grants for emergency response training.

— Require two-person crews. Profits up, people down.

Among other things, Shaw says he supports provisions in the bill about improved tank car standards, increased oversight of inspections and investments in hot bearing detectors.

He and others in the industry do not support the rule that would require two-person crews, something Brown says is key.

The railroad industry as a whole has cut its workforce by about 30% since 2015. Norfolk Southern has eliminated about 40% of its 30,456 workers.

Norfolk Southern, one of the largest railroad companies on the continent, reported record operating profits in January. According to a recent company earnings presentation, the rate of accidents on its railway increased each year between 2019 and 2022.

The train that derailed in East Palestine was carrying 149 railcars, including tank cars transporting vinyl chloride and other combustible liquids, flammable liquids, and flammable gas.

There were just three people on the train.

Before the derailment, Brown said most people assumed five or six people were aboard the long trains passing through America’s communities. It is often just two.

“And they (the rail industry) want it to be one,” Brown said.

Shaw says Norfolk Southern is committed to safety, but he has not seen any data that links crew size with safety.

The Brown/Vance bill will not help East Palestine recover, but it would help ensure the public is safer from the hazardous chemicals rolling through cities, towns and villages just like East Palestine.

It is the right thing to do.

We should push for it long after the last camera crew and reporter leave East Palestine.