The state of Ohio is suing Norfolk Southern.
According to a report from The Daily Wire, the Buckeye State is suing rail company Norfolk Southern in federal court for the train derailment in East Palestine that released toxic chemicals into the environment.
The lawsuit says Norfolk Southern should be held financially accountable, adding the incident was “entirely avoidable” and the result of executives neglecting the “welfare of the communities in which Norfolk Southern operates.”
“Ohio shouldn’t have to bear the tremendous financial burden of Norfolk Southern’s glaring negligence,” Attorney General Dave Yost (R-OH) said in a statement. “The fallout from this highly preventable incident may continue for years to come, and there’s still so much we don’t know about the long-term effects on our air, water and soil.”
“The state of Ohio is the owner in trust of public lands, waters, and resources within its political boundaries and has a duty to protect and preserve those natural resources,” the lawsuit continues. “Ohio brings this action to redress the derailment and the resulting contamination of Ohio’s natural resources, which has caused significant damage and poses a significant ongoing threat to Ohio’s natural resources and the citizens of Ohio.”
From The Daily Wire:
Vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen used to manufacture PVC, was emitted during the controlled burn from five train cars in the form of massive plumes of black smoke visible throughout eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Analysts from Texas A&M University and Carnegie Mellon University announced that nine of the 50 chemicals the EPA said were present on the derailed train now have higher concentrations than normal in East Palestine, even after state and federal officials claimed that air and water supplies were safe.
The EPA has additionally directed Norfolk Southern to sample for dioxins, a class of pollutants that can be formed by vinyl chloride combustion and can bind to soil particles for decades.
The lawsuit further noted that accident rates for Norfolk Southern have doubled over the past decade and involved at least 20 chemical releases since 2015. Officials therefore demanded reimbursement for all response costs “incurred and to be incurred” as a result of the disaster.
Ohio Senator J.D. Vance shared an update this week, imploring Americans not to forgetting what’s happening in East Palestine.
Toxic chemicals are still just sitting in piles in East Palestine. President Biden: show some leadership and help these Americans clean up their community. pic.twitter.com/5wabioTSLI
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) March 13, 2023
