Judge to weigh $600M East Palestine train derailment settlement

The proceeding comes connected the heels of an Associated Press analysis that raised concerns astir the Environmental Protection Agency’s handling of contamination information from the derailment site. Many residents question the agency’s transparency astir imaginable resulting wellness risks.

The proceeding volition commencement astatine 10 a.m. CT astatine the Northern District Court of Ohio successful Youngstown. A rally successful enactment of the radical affected by the derailment is planned for the aforesaid clip extracurricular the courthouse.

East Palestine bid derailment

A Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed conscionable earlier 9 p.m. section clip Feb. 3, 2023, in East Palestine.

Some 1,500 residents were told to evacuate. Fearing an explosion, officials vented and burned 5 vessel cars, releasing the carcinogen vinyl chloride into the air. Minutes later, a toxic plume of fume smothered the region.

Three days aft the derailment, the EPA said it hadn’t detected contaminants astatine “levels of concern” and gave the all-clear for residents to return. Those who did reported processing rashes and feeling ill.

In March 2023, an autarkic investigating adept confirmed residents’ fears that carcinogens undetected by the Ohio EPA were successful the water. More tests revealed dioxins — the astir toxic compounds connected the satellite — successful the soil, h2o and residents’ aerial filters.

Today, those who stay successful East Palestine and the surrounding country accidental their wellness problems are getting worse.

Norfolk Southern settlement

The obstruction institution agreed successful April to wage $600 cardinal successful a class-action suit colony tied to the derailment. Residents, however, interest the wealth won’t screen imaginable aboriginal wellness needs and won’t magnitude to overmuch erstwhile it’s divided among recipients.

Attorneys for East Palestine residents filed a question successful August asking the justice to reevaluate the settlement.

"To accept, we would person to accidental that Norfolk Southern is not liable for anything, when, successful fact, they were blameworthy of truthful galore crimes here," East Palestine nonmigratory Tammy Tsai told NewsNation up of Wednesday's hearing.

The residents' ailment focused connected allegations that colony lawyers buried a contracted vulnerability expert’s findings astir the authorities of ungraded and h2o successful the affected area. They reason the colony statement was rushed and allege lawyers are colluding with Norfolk Southern.

That vulnerability expert, Stephen Petty, was among respective radical who filed affidavits with the tribunal and the EPA's inspector general.

“It is 1 of the fewer times wherever I’ve been involved, wherever I don’t deliberation that the accusation that should get retired determination is getting retired there,” Petty told NewsNation successful an exclusive interview earlier this week.