WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday sent a letter to the CEO of Norfolk Southern warning that the railroad company must show “unmistakable support for the people” of eastern Palestine, Ohio, and surrounding areas after a burning Train derailment had led to the release of chemicals and local residents expressing concerns about their health.
“Norfolk Southern must live up to its obligation to keep its residents healthy — and it must also live up to its obligation to do whatever it takes to endanger communities like eastern Palestine,” Buttigieg wrote. “This is the right time for Norfolk Southern to take a leadership position within the rail industry and shift to an attitude focused on supporting, not frustrating, efforts to raise the standard of U.S. rail safety regulations.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday the chemicals spilled in the Ohio River no longer pose a risk, even though people in the community say they experience constant headaches and irritated eyes. The state plans to open a medical clinic in the village of 4,700 to analyze their symptoms, despite repeated claims that air and water tests have shown no signs of contamination.
Nevertheless, there is uncertainty about the consequences of a derailment about two weeks ago.
Peter DeCarlo, a professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins University, told ABC News on Sunday that more testing is needed to determine what chemicals are present.
“We just don’t have the information we need to understand what chemicals might be there,” DeCarlo said. “We know it started as vinyl chloride, but once you burn all bets are off. There are many chemical by-products that can result from such a combustion process.”
When asked if he would return to East Palestine if he already lived there, DeCarlo said, “I have two little boys. I would not.”
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw issued a statement on Saturday that he “returned to eastern Palestine today to meet with local leaders, first responders and a group of Norfolk Southern employees who live in the area.”
“In every conversation I have today, I’ve shared how sorry I am that this happened to her home,” Shaw said. The Atlanta-based company has created a website with updates, NSMakingItRight.com.
The Transport Secretary’s letter on Sunday was a stern warning to Norfolk Southern, saying: “It is imperative that your company makes a clear and open commitment to looking after residents – now and in the future.”
Buttigieg said the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the derailment and that the Federal Railroad Administration is also analyzing whether safety violations have occurred and will hold Norfolk Southern accountable if violations have occurred.
The Environmental Protection Agency has said the company must document releases of hazardous pollutants and outline remediation measures.
But Buttigieg also said Norfolk Southern and other railroad companies have “spent millions of dollars in court and lobbied members of Congress to oppose sane safety regulations, stopping some outright and restricting the scope of others.” He said the effort had undermined regulations on braking requirements and pushed back the introduction of more durable rail vehicles for transporting dangerous goods to 2029, rather than the “originally planned 2025 date”.
The Secretary of Transportation said the results of the investigation are not yet known, but “we know that these moves, which Norfolk Southern and its colleagues have opposed, were intended to improve railroad safety and keep Americans safe.”
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