Norfolk Southern agrees to pay the city of East Palestine $600 million a year after toxic train derailment that destroyed the city

Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit related to a fiery February 2023 train derailment in eastern Ohio.

Pending court approval, the agreement would resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius of the derailment and, for residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius of the derailment. derailment.

Norfolk Southern is the freight train company whose train caught fire in February 2023, releasing more than a million gallons of hazardous materials and pollutants in the East Palestine city.

The company will not admit any liability or wrongdoing, but will provide compensation “for past, present and future personal injuries resulting from exposure to the chemicals involved,” the lawyers who filed the lawsuit against Norfolk Southern said in a joint statement.

The settlement is expected to be submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio for preliminary approval later in April 2024. Payments to class members under the settlement could begin by the end of the year, subject to final court approval.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the deal is the culmination of a year of intensive investigation into the derailment and should provide meaningful relief to residents.

“This resolution comes shortly after the one-year anniversary of the disaster and will provide substantial compensation to all affected residents, property owners, employees and businesses who live, own or otherwise have a legal interest in real estate or operate a business for damages resulting from the derailment and chemical release,” Norfolk Southern attorneys said.

The railroad also reported preliminary first-quarter earnings of 23 cents per share on Tuesday to reflect the impact of the settlement.

Alan Shaw, CEO of Norfolk Southern, which received a 37 percent pay increase in 2023, said Norfolk Southern “is becoming a more productive and efficient railroad. “There is still more work to be done to achieve industrially competitive margins.”

Last year, Norfolk Southern agreed to compensate homeowners in East Palestine, Ohio, who had to sell their properties at a lower value.

They have already spent more than $1.1 billion responding to the derailment – ​​which forced nearly half the city’s population to evacuate – including more than $104 million in direct aid to East Palestine and its residents.

Last week, federal officials said the aftermath of the train derailment does not qualify as a public health emergency because widespread health problems and ongoing chemical exposure have not been documented.

The Environmental Protection Agency never approved that designation after the Norfolk Southern derailment in February 2023, even though the disaster forced the evacuation of half the city of East Palestine and caused widespread fear about the potential long-term health effects of the chemicals that leaked and burned. Contamination concerns were exacerbated by the decision to blow up five tankers filled with vinyl chloride and burn that toxic chemical three days after the derailment.

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board recently said her agency’s investigation found that venting and burning vinyl chloride was unnecessary because the company that produced the chemical was confident no dangerous chemical reaction was taking place in the tankers. But the officials who made the decision have said they were never told that.

The NTSB’s full investigation into the cause of the derailment won’t be complete until June, although that agency has said an overheated wheel bearing on one of the train cars, which was not detected in time by a track sensor, likely caused the crash.

The EPA has said cleanup efforts in eastern Palestine are expected to be completed sometime later this year.

Dramatic photos and footage of the incident showed a massive fire following the derailment, leaving train cars and debris scattered across the area.

After being cleared to return, some residents told DailyMail.com they were still feeling the effects of the toxic runoff, including rashes, shortness of breath, headaches and more.

A mobile laboratory of scientists in Texas A&M University and Carnegie Mellon University had discovered an airborne chemical known as acrolein in the aftermath of the catastrophic train derailment.

The analysis comes from February 20 and 21, 2023, less than three weeks after the crash, and comes from the air, groundwater and homes of local residents.

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, acrolein is a clear, colorless gas or pale yellow, strong-smelling liquid.

It evaporates easily at normal temperatures, forming toxic concentrations. It is toxic regardless of the route of exposure. It causes inflammation and irritation of the skin, respiratory tract and mucous membranes.

After it is inhaled, it can cause delayed pulmonary edema: excess fluid in the lungs. This can lead to coughing, chest pain and fatigue.

In September, President Joe Biden finally taking steps to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the devastating train derailment.

He signed an executive order ending Ohio’s major disaster emergency declaration related to the derailment.

The order will “ensure that Norfolk Southern continues to be held accountable for this disaster, to address the long-term consequences of the disaster, and to ensure that federal assistance is available to affected communities if needs develop that Norfolk Southern is not meeting ‘. according to the White House.

The order also appoints a federal disaster recovery coordinator to handle long-term cleanup in eastern Palestine. The coordinator will ensure Norfolk Southern meets its “obligations to the community.”

In addition to the class action, Norfolk Southern also faces lawsuits filed by shareholders, the state of Ohio and the U.S. Department of Justice.

In May 2023, a U.S. Senate committee approved bipartisan rail safety legislation tightening rules for trains carrying explosive substances, such as the one operated by Norfolk Southern, but further action has stalled.