April 3rd 2024 | Havana Mullaly
Edited by Helina
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous cargo derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, an overlooked and impoverished town. This tragic derailment released chemicals into the community and surrounding areas. After the incident, the company Norfolk Southern was sued by the Federal Government for violating the Clean Water Act. The implications following the event were detrimental and have impacted the health of all involved. This case has been ongoing and has created many complications leading to lawsuits. I will investigate this situation by discussing how the accident occurred; the environmental health impacts on residents; specific Clean Water Act violations; and environmental injustice.
The Norfolk Southern freight train accident occurred due to overheating of wheel bearings on a freight train, causing train cars full of chemicals to explode (Walker). This devastating situation highlighted the company’s lack of care towards safety. The company was “cutting expenses associated with maintaining trains and equipment” which directly contributed to the accident (Thrush). The aftermath of this crisis has led to serious issues. Firstly, the toxic material was released into the air, soil, and creeks all throughout the area (Deliso). Some of these materials included vinyl chloride, volatile colorless gas, ethyl acrylate and isobutylene (Deliso). These are known to be extremely dangerous chemicals that are catastrophic for health. Therefore, a mandatory evacuation went into effect for all residents near the derailment site, impacting thousands. This evacuation was challenging for civilians of East Palestine, Ohio because it is an extremely poverty-stricken place, making the evacuation not only difficult but financially burdensome (East Palestine). Not only were they faced with the presence of toxic chemicals impacting their health but also the expenses imposed on them. This evacuation occurred on February 6, 2023, three days after the derailment. On February 8, however, only 2 days after the evacuation, residents were allowed back to their homes. Residents were informed that air and water samples were deemed safe, but they felt this information was inaccurate (Deliso). After only a week following the lifted evacuation, residents confronted Norfolk Southern officials, expressing their pressing concerns over health and safety (Deliso). They demanded that more testing occur to ensure it was safe. It was difficult to comprehend how chemical levels could return to normal after only a 2-day evacuation with no chemical removal. Following the confrontation, officials from Norfolk Southern dismissed many of the concerns and assured people they were safe (Deliso). It appeared that the Norfolk Southern representatives were apathetic toward the civilians and were not open to further testing, stating they believed the area was safe. This act of carelessness put residents’ lives at risk, forcing them back into a state of vulnerability with limited means of escape. This incident clearly demonstrates environmental injustice, as East Palestine residents are low-income individuals whose voices were disregarded.
The environmental health concerns due to contaminated air and water have impacted civilians for months despite how officials claimed the area was safe. Residents have been experiencing sore throats, headaches, raspy voice, chest pain, and rashes along with many other symptoms (Bendix). Of even more concern is the fact that vinyl chloride was released and is a carcinogen responsible for liver cancer (Bendix). In fact, it was found that Norfolk Southern “released more vinyl chloride into the environment in the course of a week than all industrial emitters combined did in the course of a year in the United States” (Bendix). This tragic information highlights the danger that civilians faced in East Palestine. Today, many have lingering coughs, and many are still at significant risk for cancer. These realities demonstrate a potential for lasting health problems. In addition to residents filing lawsuits against Norfolk Southern, the Federal Government took a higher stance by suing the company for violating the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act itself is a policy that “establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States” and was formally enacted in 1972 (EPA-Summary). This Act has been an important piece of legislation that has improved water quality for decades and was properly enforced for this accident. The Justice Department, on behalf of the EPA was able to invoke Section 311(c) of the Clean Water Act (EPA-Admin). This section involved two main violations with two separate counts for the derailment. This has forced those involved in the accident to respond to the incident and take the proper steps toward fixing the problem (EPA-Admin). The first count focused on how the company was responsible for “unlawfully polluting the nation’s waterways”. (Thrush) The second count was related to a “measure that allows the government to recover damages from companies that break environmental laws”. (Thrush) The ability for the EPA to claim the company was in violation of the Clean Water Act was pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, giving the EPA the authority to order those who polluted to clean it (EPA-Orders).
The beginning steps of the lawsuit involved the EPA including an administrative order requiring the company to “develop and implement plans” to address contamination and pay back the EPA for clean-up costs (EPA-Admin). These plans included addressing the affected waterways such as Sulphur Run, Leslie Run, Bull Creek, the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek, Little Beaver Creek, and the Ohio River (EPA-Admin). The chemicals that spanned across these waterways were also responsible for thousands of aquatic animal deaths. These incidents were covered under the first count of the lawsuit: unlawfully polluting the nation’s waterways. When looking at how the second count was imposed, Norfolk Southern was demanded to pay $120,000 for every day that the company was under violation of the Clean Water Act (EPA-Admin). This did not include the amount that was needed to “reimburse government agencies for their response and cleanup efforts.” (EPA-Admin).
Another consequence that resulted was that medical institutions were unable to properly care for residents because they lacked toxicology data from the site. Norfolk Southern’s lack of proper chemical leakage reporting disabled the institutions from obtaining the appropriate medical knowledge. There still is no conclusion to this case as Norfolk Southern is currently found to be under violation of the Clean Water Act until they can properly remove all chemicals from East Palestine, Ohio. Thus far, they have successfully listened to the requests of the EPA by paying the costs for the cleanups while working towards improving their railroad safety (Rebekah). As of October 18, 2023, there have been successful strides in the cleanup with weekly surface water sampling, surface water inspections, sediment agitation techniques and sewer flushing (EPA-Clean Water Act). This is promising and will hopefully lead to the complete elimination of the chemicals within East Palestine.
The lawsuit involving the Federal Government and Norfolk Southern has demonstrated how the strength of the Clean Water Act was used to bring solutions to a destructive accident. Although the health concerns for those involved are ongoing, the Act has been able to hold Norfolk Southern accountable. The company has been forced to give necessary chemical information to hospitals caring for patients and will continue to cover medical expenses. Even though the patients will get paid care for their health problems, it does not excuse the actions of Norfolk Southern. Their initial decision to tell residents that it was safe to return to East Palestine, Ohio after only two days was extremely reckless. It is almost impossible to fully assess chemicals in such a large radius of land in such a short amount of time (Deliso).
As stated above, East Palestine is a poverty-stricken location and the costs upon this population has severely impacted their lives. Norfolk Southern chose to neglect safety both with their train rail and chemical cleanup has landed them in an irreversible scenario, impacting thousands. Perhaps the company thought they might get away with a quick fix due to the vulnerability of this community. In contrast, a wealthier community would have access to more legal resources to fight against such a powerful company like Norfolk Southern.
Perhaps the only positive outcome of this situation has been that the US Senate and House of Representatives introduced crucial legislation known as The Railway Safety Act of 2023, which will lead to the expansion of railway safety precautions (Sarah). This piece of legislation will help prevent future derailments to occur and hold companies like Norfolk Southern accountable for negligent behaviors. More specifically, the policy will require “railroads to use defect detectors with more frequency” making it no longer voluntary but instead requires companies to regularly check on the safety of freight rail (Bipartisan). This will help to ensure that hazardous material is not released due to a lack of safety protocol (Bipartisan). The Railway Safety Act of 2023 will have positive impacts on train rail.
One of the main underlying problems, in the East Palestine derailment, however, was the location of the train tracks within the community. As previously mentioned, East Palestine is a low-income town which has suffered disproportionately from the opioid epidemic and an industrial decline due to its history of coal mining (Williams). It is due to its history of coal mining, however, that this community found itself in an unfortunate and vulnerable location near a major railroad. Historically, impoverished civilians like coal miners were forced into undesirable locations for mining with railways being essential for coal transportation (Williams). Having railroads near low-income areas in the United States, however, is not an uncommon story. In fact, redlining has also played a major role in creating racial and economic divides, often forcing the underprivileged to live near railroads (How Railroads). In fact, “Blacks were often historically restricted to neighborhoods separated from whites by railroads” and these dividing lines persist to this day (How Railroads). Railroads often serve as a boundary between black and white communities, with Pittsburgh, a town close to East Palestine, experiencing some of the worst railroad segregation in America (How Railroads). Ultimately, “people of color and low-income communities are bearing a disproportionate burden of risk” when it comes to train derailments (Gaworecki). Furthermore, “25 million Americans live within one mile of rail lines that carry toxic crude oil” with a majority being low income or minorities (“You’re not…”). These divisions in society demonstrate environmental injustice to countless citizens that fall victim to potential derailments simply by where they live.
Ultimately, legislation like The Railway Safety Act of 2023 will aid in reducing the chance of a derailment but it will not solve the problem of economic and racial division that derailments impact. In addition, The Clean Water Act will continue to punish irresponsible companies for harming others. While both laws help severely vulnerable communities, they will not necessarily prevent further atrocities such as that which occurred in East Palestine. These laws, however, are a good start in the right direction to limit environmental injustice in the United States.
Havana Mullaly is a sophomore at Johns Hopkins University majoring in Environmental Science and Public Health.
Sources:
Bendix, Aria. “Residents near Ohio Train Derailment Begin to File Lawsuits.” NBCNews.com, February 18, 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lawsuits-filed-ohio-train-derailment-rcna71192.
“Bipartisan Railway Safety Bill Passes Cantwell-Led Commerce Committee in 16-11 Vote, Heads to Full Senate: U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington.” Home, May 10, 2023. http://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/bipartisan-railway-safety-bill-passes-cantwell-led-commerce-committee-in-16-11-vote-heads-to-full-senate#:~:text=This%20legislation%20requires%2C%20for%20the,the%20care%20that%20they%20deserve.
Deliso, Meredith. “‘East Palestine Derailment: Timeline of Key Events in Toxic Train Disaster.’ .” ABC News. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://abcnews.go.com/US/east-palestine-derailment-timeline-key-events-toxic-train/story?id=97522161%2F.
East Palestine residents anxious about additional hardships. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2023/02/19/east-palestine-residents-anxious-about-additional-hardships.
EPA. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/east-palestine-oh-train-derailment/clean-water-act-administrative-order-and-directives.
EPA. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act.
EPA. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-orders-norfolk-southern-conduct-all-cleanup-actions-associated-east-palestine.
EPA. Accessed February 7, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-10/part2_wf-pathways_report_formatted_no-appendices_508-compliant.pdf.
Gaworecki, Mike. “Minority, Low-Income Communities Bear Disproportionate Share of Risk from Oil Trains in California.” DeSmog, July 7, 2015. http://www.desmog.com/2015/07/07/minority-low-income-communities-bear-disproportionate-share-risk-oil-trains-california/.
How railroads, highways and other man-made lines racially divide … Accessed February 7, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/16/how-railroads-highways-and-other-man-made-lines-racially-divide-americas-cities/.
Rebekah Yeager-Malkin | U. Pittsburgh School of Law, US. “Hearings Conclude for Norfolk Southern Train Derailment in East Palestine, OH.” Jurist, June 26, 2023. http://www.jurist.org/news/2023/06/hearing-conclude-for-norfolk-southern-train-derailment-in-east-palestine-oh/.
Sarah Kimball Stephenson | Fordham U. School of Law, US. “Safety Legislation Introduced in US Congress Following Toxic Ohio Rail Accident.” Jurist, March 2, 2023. http://www.jurist.org/news/2023/03/safety-legislation-introduced-in-us-congress-following-toxic-ohio-rail-accident/.
Thrush, Glenn. “Justice Dept. Sues Norfolk Southern over East Palestine Derailment.” The New York Times, March 31, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/31/us/politics/east-palestine-chemical-spill-lawsuit.html.
Walker, Mark, and Peter Eavis. “N.T.S.B. Convenes Hearing in East Palestine to Examine Train Derailment.” The New York Times, June 22, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/us/politics/train-derailment-east-palestine-ntsb.html.
Williams, Armstrong. “The Forgotten Town: East Palestine’s Catastrophe Ignored by Biden.” dayton, March 2, 2023. http://www.daytondailynews.com/ideas-voices/the-forgotten-town-east-palestines-catastrophe-ignored-by-biden/VU5BN73YSBCPBHIFWLVGYT5OKU/.
“‘You’re Not Forgotten’: How the Right Racialized the Ohio Train Disaster.” The Guardian, February 26, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/trump-fox-news-east-palestine-ohio-right-wing-race-baiting.
Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar
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