CNN
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The president of the Norfolk Southern Company, which operated a train carrying hazardous materials that derailed earlier this month, met with residents and local leaders of a community in East Palestine, Ohio, on Saturday and said the company was “here, until the village collapsed.” I promised. said the mayor.
“We’re going to let him defend it,” East Palestinian Mayor Trent Conaway said Saturday night. facebook update.
The mayor said decontamination work has been ongoing for more than two weeks since the February 3 derailment, adding that he also met with the first assessment team that arrived from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw’s Saturday visit – his second visit to the village since the derailment – included meetings with local leaders, first responders and Norfolk Southern employees living in the area. It was included, Shaw said in a statement.
“We are working closely with Ohio’s environmental and health agencies on long-term plans to protect our environment and communities. We intend to work thoroughly, completely, and safely. ‘ said Shaw.
Community members “want to know that we are trying to do the right thing for their community and I am determined to earn their trust,” he added. .
Earlier this week, hundreds of frustrated residents of Eastern Palestine packed their local high school gymnasium into City Hall and expressed concern about water and air safety from toxic gas debris, voicing responses from their leaders. It made me feel distrustful. Norfolk Southern were scheduled to attend Wednesday’s Town Hall to provide an update on cleanup efforts and the latest air and water test results, but canceled earlier in the day, citing safety concerns. I got
The derailment prompted the crew to controlably blow up some of the tanks that were carrying toxic chemicals such as vinyl chloride. High levels of vinyl chloride can kill and increase cancer risk.
A local evacuation order was issued and lifted five days after the derailment. Because authorities have determined that the air and water are safe for people to return. However, many residents are not convinced.
“There’s nothing in the air or in the water, so why are people getting sick?” yelled one resident at City Hall Wednesday night.
“I worry about the smell of dead fish and water,” said another. Thousands of fish died after the shipwreck, polluting steam and rivers, but state officials say the pollutants have since been contained.
Tiffany Kavalek, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s surface water division, told CNN earlier this week that no vinyl chloride was detected in the downhill channel near the train derailment.
And state officials have repeatedly determined that the water from the city’s system, which is pumped from five deep wells covered with sturdy steel casings, is safe to drink. However, the state EPA encourages residents using private wells to have their water tested.
on his saturday update, The mayor also said the clinic “should be up and running” by Tuesday.
On Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to send a medical team including “physicians and behavior problem experts” to eastern Palestine.
In response, the Biden administration said it had dispatched federal medical experts to assess what dangers remain, and the CDC said on Friday that it had sent a team to assess the public health needs of the region. We have also confirmed that we will dispatch
White House Press Secretary Carine Jean-Pierre suggested Thursday that the needs of Eastern Palestine are “much broader” than the aid already provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Obviously we understand the concerns residents have and they have questions. It’s all understandable. And you know, we got to the bottom of this. I’m trying to find out what happened,” she said. “So we’re going to get through this together. I’ll hold Norfolk Southern accountable.”
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board is “working vigorously” to determine the cause of the derailment, said chairman Jennifer Homendy. said on Twitter on thursday.
“I personally promise that the NTSB will continue to release all information as soon as possible after its analysis,” Hommendy wrote. “Next: NTSB agents will thoroughly examine decontaminated tanker truck. As always, emergency safety advisories will be issued as needed.”
Investigators have reviewed multiple videos of the train prior to the derailment, including one showing “what is believed to be a wheel bearing in the final stages of an overheating failure prior to the derailment,” he said. officials said.
