Tag: East Palestine Train Derailment

Norfolk Southern Pays $1 Million to Pennsylvania Communities Harmed by February Derailment

When a 151-car Norfolk Southern Railway freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 near the Pennsylvania border, the smoke plume could be seen for miles. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported 38 rail cars derailed, fire damaged an additional 12 cars, and of the train’s 20 total hazardous material cars, 11…


IN-DEPTH: Nearly Three Months After East Palestine Toxic Train Disaster, Residents Still Live in Fear: ‘Is it safe to take a shower?’

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio—Until Feb. 3, most Americans had never heard of East Palestine, the village of 4,700 residents in eastern Ohio about a mile from the Pennsylvania border. Most people could not even identify it on a map, or accurately pronounce it, lifelong resident Gregory Mascher admitted. “East Pali-steen, not East Pali-stine,” Mascher said with…


EXCLUSIVE: East Palestine’s Toxic Nightmare Continues–Residents Battle Anxiety and Uncertainty Months After Train Catastrophe

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio—Until Feb. 3, most Americans had never heard of East Palestine, the village of 4,700 residents in eastern Ohio about a mile from the Pennsylvania border. Most people could not even identify it on a map, or accurately pronounce it, lifelong resident Gregory Mascher admitted. “East Pali-steen, not East Pali-stine,” Mascher said with…


Bogus Charity Stole $131,000 Meant for Toxic Rail Derailment, Ohio Lawsuit Alleges

An organization raked in $141,000 but “pocketed” nearly all of that amount instead of using it to help East Palestine, Ohio, residents struggling with toxic fumes and contaminated water after a train derailment and fire, the state’s top law official says. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit alleging that a Leetonia, Ohio, man named…


Truck Carrying Contaminated Soil from East Palestine Train Derailment Crashes

A truck carrying 40,000 pounds of contaminated soil from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment clean-up site crashed in Columbiana County on Monday. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the incident occurred around 1 p.m. on state Route 165 near Waterford Road, just north of East Palestine. Troopers arrived at the scene for a…


Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Rail Safety Bill Hours After Another Derailment

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), co-sponsor Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio), and other Ohio U.S. representatives introduced the Reducing Accidents in Locomotives (RAIL) Act at a March 30 press conference hours after a BNSF Railway train carrying ethanol derailed and caught fire in Raymond, Minnesota. Residents near the crash site were evacuated. No injuries were reported and…


Senators Continue to Express Dismay Over Norfolk Southern CEO’s Answers About Ohio Toxic Train Derailment

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on March 22 offered his “full-throated endorsement” for “many provisions” in a bipartisan Senate bill to strengthen railroad safety regulations but he would not commit to promoting the legislation’s passage. Shaw’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation was similar to the remarks he delivered at the Senate…


Bi-Partisan Cooperation Emerges With Two Bills in Aftermath of Ohio Toxic Train Derailment

Since the toxic derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in eastern Ohio on Feb. 3, Democrats and Republicans have pointed fingers at each other about the disaster and subsequent derailments. Yet bi-partisan cooperation on railroad safety legislation has emerged in both chambers on Capitol Hill. Following the Railway Safety Act of 2023 announced by…


Bipartisan Cooperation Emerges With 2 Bills in Aftermath of Ohio Toxic Train Derailment

Since the toxic derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in eastern Ohio on Feb. 3, Democrats and Republicans have pointed fingers at each other about the disaster and subsequent derailments. Yet bi-partisan cooperation on railroad safety legislation has emerged in both chambers on Capitol Hill. Following the Railway Safety Act of 2023 announced by…


State Senators Press Norfolk Southern CEO About Burning of Toxic Chemicals After Train Derailment

As he did before a U.S. Senate committee hearing on March 9, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw apologized to residents in East Palestine, Ohio, and surrounding communities during a hearing before the Pennsylvania state senate on March 20. Unlike his appearance at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in Washington, Shaw faced in-depth questioning…