EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (NewsNation) — Several East Palestine residents are making their way to Washington for Thursday’s Senate hearing, where Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is expected to testify about his company’s safety practices following the toxic train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
Officials continue to tell the East Palestine residents that air and water tests don’t show any dangerous levels of toxins, but residents worry about the potential long-term effects.
“Everybody here wants it to be fine. We want that to be true so badly. Everybody loves this community and nobody wants to leave. … But if it’s not, we need to know that,” Misti Allison said.
Residents said the railroad appears now to be trying to help the community, but initially Norfolk Southern seemed more worried about getting trains moving again than cleaning up the mess.
NewsNation spoke to several East Palestine residents, and most of them say they want to hear the truth and want to be guaranteed they’re going to be safe moving forward. They also shared questions that’d like for Shaw to answer during his testimony.
“We just need to know the truth of the dangers. I have three grandchildren and I refuse to bring them into this area,” one resident told NewsNation.
Personal and environmental health concerns really seem to top the list for residents.
“My question is, why do you come up with such stuff that is not even believable, and all it’s doing is pushing you further away and credibility,” a resident told NewsNation.
“Is it safe to eat our eggs? Is it safe for our horses to eat the grass?” another resident questioned.
Residents are also worried about their animals, their property value, their home value and if they’ll ever be able to sell again.
Meanwhile, business owners, who haven’t had a single customer since Feb. 3, want to know why they’re still left picking up the pieces while Norfolk Southern was able to put new tracks down and send trains on through business as usual just days later.
Norfolk Southern is also under pressure from federal regulators. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Railroad Administration both announced investigations this week into the company’s safety culture. The NTSB said its investigators will look into five significant accidents involving Norfolk Southern since December 2021.
Many residents feel that President Joe Biden should have visited the community in the aftermath of the derailment. Biden has said he’ll visit the community at some point, but the White House has not released specific plans. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg went to East Palestine last month and has pressed for increased safety protocols for trains.
