![]() Still, Regan said he is not sure if EPA is testing for dioxin, a carcinogen, as some lawmakers and advocates requested. DeWine said Ohio’s attorney general had launched an investigation.ĮPA said it has tested indoor air quality at 550 homes so far, with outside air being monitored via aircraft, mobile vans and stationary instruments. ![]() Shapiro said his administration had made a criminal referral of Norfolk Southern to the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office. “The combination of Norfolk Southern’s corporate greed, incompetence, and lack of concern for our residents is absolutely unacceptable,” said Shapiro, speaking at the news conference with Regan, DeWine and other officials. Josh Shapiro blasted Norfolk Southern over what he called its “failed management of this crisis,” saying the company chose not to take part in a unified incident command, and provided inaccurate information and conflicting modeling data. He said the company would have to take the tracks back up and remove the soil. But he said Norfolk Southern failed to address the contaminated soil underneath its tracks before repairing them and running freight again. “People have long-term concerns, and we’re going to do everything we can to stay at this.”Īlready, 4,600 yards of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water have been removed, DeWine said. “We understand that it’s not just about today, it’s not just about two weeks from now,” he said. Mike DeWine assured residents they will not be left to handle the aftermath on their own once public attention turns elsewhere. That left people questioning the potential health impacts even as authorities maintained they were doing their best to protect people. Officials seeking to avoid an uncontrolled blast intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke high into the sky. “I want affected residents to know that we’ve got your back.”ĮPA’s move to compel Norfolk Southern to clean up came nearly three weeks after more than three dozen freight cars - including 11 carrying hazardous materials - derailed on the East Palestine outskirts, near the Pennsylvania state line, prompting an evacuation as fears grew about a potential explosion of smoldering wreckage. But first, we’ve got Norfolk Southern’s mess to clean,” he said. “We’ll continue to hold rail companies accountable when they fail to put safety first. ![]() In a tweet sent after the EPA announcement, President Joe Biden said the Trump administration and other elected officials have hampered efforts to improve rail safety. “I just want to make sure she’s safe,” he said. ![]() “I know this order cannot undue the nightmare that families in this town have been living with, but it will begin to deliver much-needed justice for the pain that Norfolk Southern has caused.” “Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess that they created and the trauma that they inflicted on this community,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan vowed at a news conference in East Palestine. ![]() It also said the company would be required to reimburse the federal government for a new program to provide cleaning services for impacted residents and businesses. Speaking to reporters near the derailment site, Norfolk Southern’s CEO promised to undertake necessary steps to ensure the long-term health of the community and become a “safer railroad.”ĮPA used its authority under the federal Superfund law to order Norfolk Southern to take all available measures to clean up contaminated air and water. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to pay for the cleanup of the East Palestine, Ohio, train wreck and chemical release as federal regulators took charge of long-term recovery efforts and promised worried residents they won’t be forgotten. ![]()
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