On Feb. 3, 2023, the residents of East Palestine, a sleepy town of around 5,000 people in eastern Ohio, according to the U.S. census Bureau, awoke to the sound of nearly 40 cars of Norfolk-Southern Company’s 32N train cars derailing just outside of town. The cars that derailed were carrying several chemicals that are considered toxic when exposed to humans.
Shortly after derailment, these chemicals caught on fire and created a toxic plume that extended well into the atmosphere, spreading the risk to communities and towns around the contamination site. Anxiety was also increased by the fact that several additional cars carrying vinyl chloride required a “controlled release” by Norfolk-Southern in the days following the accident so that the cars carrying the chemical did not explode.
Norfolk-Southern explicitly told residents on Feb. 6 when evacuations began that they were at risk of death if they stayed during the “controlled release” before doing a 180 only a few days later and encouraging citizens to move back into the town. All in all, this has been a huge mess for East Palestine, Norfolk-Southern, the state of Ohio and the federal government as a whole.
But what does this have to do with Pennsylvania? Living in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey or anywhere to the east of the Appalachians, we often forget that Pennsylvania is an incredibly large state, and that East Palestine butts up against some of our very own communities here in the Commonwealth.
Beaver County, to the west of Pittsburgh, has experienced the brunt of the fallout from the East Palestine train derailment, being only a few hundred feet from the epicenter of the derailment. Small towns and cities to the west of Pittsburgh have all been left with anxiety following the derailment only a few miles from where they reside. Although tests in early March have shown no signs of pollution in Pennsylvania, residents are still concerned, especially because Norfolk-Southern has only tested within around two miles of the radius of the blast, not considering the hundreds of private wells beyond the two-mile limit in PA that could be affected by potential toxic leakage.
Residents outside of the two-mile radius can be tested but they must request a test from the government rather than receiving one automatically as a part of the cleanup process. On Feb. 24, the Pennsylvania State Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee heard testimony from residents of Beaver County at the Beaver County Community College about the derailment in Ohio and how it had affected them personally.
Community members from across the county attended the event and Norfolk-Southern had been granted an invitation but had declined. Norfolk-Southern has elicited ire from the bi-partisan committee with both Republican Chairman Doug Mastriano and Democratic Chair Katie Mutch condemning Norfolk-Southern for their refusal to face the citizens of Beaver County.
During the committee meeting, many members of Beaver County reiterated the fact that the state government was too slow to update their information and first responders and civilians alike shared the fear that they could have been exposed to chemicals that night without being aware of just how dangerous the substances they came into contact with were, resulting in unexplained rashes, a metallic smell filling the air, and countless animals contracting illness (Pittsburgh-Post Gazette).
The Shapiro administration has responded to the crisis by investigating whether or not the state could sue Norfolk-Southern for damages, specifically for maintaining tight lipped on the extent of the damages to first responders and citizens living within the contamination zone. The Shapiro administration has also offered to continue to test wells for months if not years to come while Norfolk-Southern on March 6 finally agreed to pay up to $1 million to Beaver and Lawrence Counties in western PA for damages incurred as well as to cover the full $5 million cost of the state agencies and local fire departments that responded to the derailment without the proper knowledge of how to handle the disaster.
Governor Shapiro pinned the blame for the accident squarely on Norfolk-Southern and the Federal government, saying to NPR on Feb 22, “They need to put real teeth into some of these laws involving the safety of our railways. They need to force Norfolk Southern and the other railroad companies to invest real money in their braking systems and the security and safety of their trains (Helton).” Shapiro would go on to say, “This is the same company that has sadly and successfully lobbied Congress over multiple years to do away with safety measures that would cost them a few bucks but might keep the community safer. They line themselves up with lawyers and lobbyists to escape scrutiny and I’m sick and tired of it (Helton).”
Like everyone else, the people of East Palestine want to wake up in the morning and not worry about the air they breathe, they want to feel safe enough to let their kids play in the front yard without getting sick and, most importantly, they want to know that the water they drink isn’t killing them. Readers can contact their local representative and demand that they support action towards increasing regulation on freight trains and the chemicals they carry.
