Railroad faces criminal probe in Ohio disaster
Railroad company Norfolk Southern could face criminal investigations tied to the derailment and toxic chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has already launched a probe into the disaster that began back in early February about a mile from the Pennsylvania state border.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he’d also made a criminal referral to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry. Shapiro, the state’s former top prosecutor, personally appointed Henry to the position after he was elected governor.
“The combination of Norfolk Southern’s corporate greed, incompetence, and lack of concern for our residents is absolutely unacceptable to me,” Shapiro said Tuesday at a press conference alongside Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
After about 50 rail cars derailed in the 4,500-person town on Feb. 3, officials decided to conduct a “controlled release” of toxic vinyl chloride from five cars. Almost half the town’s residents were told to evacuate in the days following the crash.
Local leaders and the Environment Protection Agency later said it was safe to return — both DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan made a point to drink from the town’s water supply Tuesday — but dying fish and funky smells had residents less convinced.
“[The] chemicals that were spilled and burned don’t simply just go away,” resident Nate Velez told The Washington Post last week. “I don’t believe there is any way to know the full effect until enough time passes. And that just isn’t worth the risk.”
No human deaths or injuries have been reported in connection
with the derailment and subsequent fire and spill.
Norfolk Southern will have to pay for the cleanup operation, the EPA said Tuesday. Through the Superfund law, the EPA gave Norfolk Southern two options: Pay for and clean up your mess, or we’ll do it for you and charge you three times the cost.
“Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they’ve inflicted on this community,” Regan said. “In no way shape or form will Norfolk Southern get off the hook for the mess they created.”