Tag Archives: Norfolk Southern

Rail Company To Pay $600M In Suit Over Derailment

The Associated Press reports: Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement related to a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio. The company said the agreement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, …

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Ohio Sues Rail Company Over Toxic Derailment

The Washington Post reports: Ohio is suing Norfolk Southern after one of the railroad’s trains that was carrying toxic chemicals derailed, leading to an environmental disaster. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) announced the lawsuit in a news conference Tuesday afternoon. A Norfolk Southern train was carrying hazardous chemicals such as vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate when it derailed in …

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Rail Firm Will Pay To Temporarily Relocate Residents

The Hill reports: Norfolk Southern will pay for temporary relocation for people who live within a mile of the site of a train derailment that spilled hazardous chemicals, amid ongoing cleanup efforts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a Sunday update that the company will provide “additional financial assistance” that may include “ temporary lodging, travel, food, clothing, and …

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Report: Rail Worker Was Told To Skip Safety Inspections

The Guardian reports: In leaked audio heard by the Guardian, a manager for one of the US’s largest rail companies can be heard explaining to a former carman that they should stop tagging railcars for broken bearings. The manager says doing so delays other cargo. The disclosure comes as federal agencies investigate the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. A wheel-bearing …

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Biden Orders Health Surveys In Wake Of Rail Disaster

Bloomberg News reports: President Joe Biden instructed federal agents responding to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, to go door-to-door to conduct health surveys with impacted families, a White House official said Monday. Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention visited approximately 350 household over the weekend, according to …

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Residents File Class Action Suit Against Rail Company

The Hill reports: A Youngstown, Ohio-based law firm has announced a class-action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railroad over the derailment of a train in East Palestine, using a strategy it says echoes the state’s 1990s lawsuit against tobacco companies. The firm, Johnson and Johnson, is partnering with class-action law firm Hagens Berman on behalf of all residents within 30 miles …

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NTSB: Rail Crash Caused By Overheated Wheel Bearing

Axios reports: The crew of the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, attempted to stop it after receiving a “critical” alert about an overheating wheel bearing just before the crash, an investigation found. The preliminary findings from the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation released Thursday came as residents push for answers from officials over the health dangers. …

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Buttigieg Warns Rail Company To Aid Ohio Town

ABC News reports: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent a letter Sunday to the CEO of Norfolk Southern, warning that the freight rail company must “demonstrate unequivocal support for the people” of East Palestine, Ohio, and surrounding areas after a fiery train derailment. “Norfolk Southern must live up to its commitment to make residents whole — and must also live up …

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Ohio MAGA Rep Drinks Water From Rail Disaster Town

“Hello, folks. Here. Here I am. I’m in Palestine, in Ohio, here with the train derailment. Had great meetings with Norfolk Southern, had an opportunity to speak with the mayor, EPA officials. We talked about the issues that the people that the 4,800 residents are faced with here in East Palestine as it relates to water and or air quality. …

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Ohio Gov Seeks Federal Health Aid In Rail Disaster

Axios reports: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said Thursday that he has requested additional federal assistance — including from health agencies — over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that resulted in the venting and burning of carcinogenic chemicals. DeWine said he made the request after speaking with the White House Thursday morning. Earlier in the week, he said …

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Residents Demand Answers In Wake Of Rail Disaster

The New York Times reports: Hundreds of Ohio residents gathered in a school gym on Wednesday night to demand answers about the ongoing fallout from a derailed train carrying hazardous chemicals, transforming what had been billed as an informational meeting into a heated town hall where officials with the railroad company didn’t even show up. The mayor pleaded with the …

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Rail Officials Dodge Meeting With OH Town’s Residents

Pittsburgh’s CBS affiliate reports: The Ohio village upended by a freight train derailment and the intentional burning of some of the hazardous chemicals on board has invited affected residents to a town hall meeting Wednesday evening to discuss lingering questions. Hours before the town hall meeting, rail operator Norfolk Southern said it will not be in attendance. In a statement …

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Fish And Chickens Die After Fiery Ohio Derailment

NBC News reports: For days, authorities have been telling residents of the area around East Palestine, Ohio, that it is safe to return home after a 150-car train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed Feb. 3. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the chemical spill resulting from the derailment had killed an estimated 3,500 small fish across 7½ miles of streams …

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Rail Company Blocked Safety Rules Before Derailment

Lever News reports: Before this weekend’s fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment prompted emergency evacuations in Ohio, the company helped kill a federal safety rule aimed at upgrading the rail industry’s Civil War-era braking systems, according to documents reviewed by The Lever. Though the company’s 150-car train in Ohio reportedly burst into 100-foot flames upon derailing — and was transporting materials …

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