On February 1st, 2023, a train departed from Madison, Illinois along the Fort Wayne line, bound for another rail terminal all the way in Conway, Pennsylvania. The train in question was owned and operated by Norfolk Southern, one of the largest rail companies in the entire United States. This, however, was no ordinary train. The entire vehicle carried a tremendous 151 cars, with the entire system stretching on for nearly two miles. 20 of the cars were carrying some very precious cargo: 303,000 gallons of volatile chemicals.
Two days later, as the train passed Salem, Ohio, a security camera spotted sparks and flames burning underneath one of the railcars. At 8:55 PM, as the train passed through the quaint town of East Palestine, Ohio, one of the cars fell from the tracks, causing a chain reaction that pulled another fifty cars from the 18,000 ton train onto the ground. Many of the cars in the derailment pile broke open and caught fire, sending a plume of smoke into the air above East Palestine, Ohio. Of the 51 derailed cars, 11 contained chemicals, which poured out of the massive tanks as the cars hit the ground. Over 100,000 gallons of hazardous materials spilled onto the ground, and were then ignited by the nearby fires. Some of the cars burned for days after the accident. Terrified residents rushed from their homes to see what was going on, shocked by the sight of the fiery destruction the train had caused.
Two days later, as the train passed Salem, Ohio, a security camera spotted sparks and flames burning underneath one of the railcars. At 8:55 PM, as the train passed through the quaint town of East Palestine, Ohio, one of the cars fell from the tracks, causing a chain reaction that pulled another fifty cars from the 18,000 ton train onto the ground. Many of the cars in the derailment pile broke open and caught fire, sending a plume of smoke into the air above East Palestine, Ohio. Of the 51 derailed cars, 11 contained chemicals, which poured out of the massive tanks as the cars hit the ground. Over 100,000 gallons of hazardous materials spilled onto the ground, and were then ignited by the nearby fires. Some of the cars burned for days after the accident. Terrified residents rushed from their homes to see what was going on, shocked by the sight of the fiery destruction the train had caused.
There is no doubt that what happened in East Palestine was a tragedy. But the only thing more tragic than the disaster itself is the harrowing fact that the disaster could have easily been prevented if not for the greed of the company responsible for the accident: Norfolk Southern.
Derailed train cars from the Norfolk Southern train on fire in East Palestine (Credit: CNN)
Big Profits and Cut Corners
Let’s rewind a bit.
Throughout the past few years, the railroad industry has experienced a serious downward spiral in efficiency, importance, quality, worker’s rights, and, most importantly, safety. Employment at Norfolk Southern has been steadily declining throughout the 2010s, dropping from around 27,000 total employees in September 2016 to roughly 18,000 today. This means that the remaining workers are stretched thinner as they try to fulfill the requirements of a demanding nation, receiving little relief as labor unions are hobbled by the company and the US government. In spite of this, Norfolk Southern boasts record profits, paying out billions to Norfolk Southern shareholders in dividends and stock repurchases. Meanwhile, wages for Norfolk workers remain relatively stagnant. This begs the question: where is all this money coming from?
The answer: harder work, bigger investments, and cut corners. Changes in Norfolk Southern business practices bring immense profit to managers and bosses at the expense of the safety of the rail workers, and now, innocent residents of East Palestine.
One of the most important safety features in preventing derailments similar to the one in East Palestine is frequent temperature checks by heat detectors spaced along train lines. These detectors alert the train crew when the temperature of the train rises above a certain level in order to keep the train from overheating. The security camera footage from Salem captured sparks and flames under one of the cars right before the train passed a heat detector. However, the crew was not alerted to the issue until it passed a second detector, twenty miles later. By the time the crew found out, it was too late. The train operator slammed on the brakes, but one of the cars had already jumped the rails. Which brings us to another interesting point: the criminally outdated braking systems installed on the train.
The train that derailed was equipped with manually operated, triple valve pneumatic wheel brakes. This type of braking system uses pressurized air to push the brake pads against the wheel, slowing the train as it approaches its destination, but the brakes can only be applied sequentially, one car at a time. While these brakes are considered the industry standard across freight rail companies, critics point out that the system was invented all the way back in 1869, and that more effective, robust braking systems have been developed. Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) braking systems use electronic signaling to apply brakes to every car at once, reducing the time needed to bring a train to a complete stop.
“There would not have been that huge pile up of cars coming from the rear that piled and caused ruptures and fires. So, yes, there is a very high likelihood that there would be significantly less damage," said Steven Ditmeyer, the former Head of Research at the Federal Railroad Administration. Yet, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that ECP brakes are safer and could have saved the residents of East Palestine a lot of suffering, railroads still refuse to pay for the installation of these brakes on trains carrying hazardous materials. As Ditmeyer put it, “The railroads will test new features. But once they are told they have to do it … they don’t want to spend the money."
The final nail in the coffin of Norfolk’s cost-cutting is their dwindling staff and less-than-adequate inspection protocols. In 2020, Norfolk Southern appointed 5 railroad specialists to staff and maintain heat detectors along a region of tracks between Cleveland, Ohio, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. As of writing this article, there are none left. Norfolk Southern also found that they could save money by making trains longer in order to decrease the number of workers needed to deliver cargo. The train that derailed was 151 cars long, yet only staffed by three workers: an engineer, conductor, and conductor trainee. Some Norfolk trains aren’t as lucky; many of them only get one. While there is little evidence to suggest that the derailment was caused by the length of the train, critics argue that the damage done could have been reduced if the load was carried by multiple different trains.
The declining quality of safety inspections on Norfolk Southern’s systems could have also played a role in the derailment in East Palestine. Railway union leader J. B. Long told the press that Norfolk Southern had offered increased sick days to workers if they agreed to allow more widespread use of electronic, automated safety inspections. These inspections would shorten the time needed to inspect a track, as only one human operator would need to be involved. However, railway union members reject the use of this practice, as automating rail inspections could make trains less safe and could lead to more workers being fired. The reduction in the number of workers and push for efficiency in the rail industry means that inspections are shortened and are not as intensive. A thorough inspection of the wheel bearing during transit could have prevented the axle from reaching critical temperatures and causing derailment.
Declining Norfolk Southern Employee headcount from September 2016 to July 2021 (Credit: FreightWaves)
Too Little, Too Late
Whatever poor practices by the company had caused the derailment, there was nothing they could do to prevent the disaster after the first car jumped the tracks. Derailed tanks filled with chemicals were pouring flaming gas and liquid into the air, water, and soil, and someone needed to respond. And who else better to be put in charge of taking care of Norfolk Southern’s mistake than the perpetrators themselves, Norfolk Southern.
After the train derailed, there were still many cars that had not yet broken open or caught fire. However, these cars were heating up fast, and unless someone moved them or opened them, they would violently explode, causing even more damage. East Palestine residents within a one mile radius of the explosion were told to evacuate, but were not given any financial or physical aid in order to do so. Despite the growing concern about the disaster and its effects, neither the federal nor state governments did anything in reaction to the situation, instead leaving the cleanup to local officials and the rail company. Officials on the scene decided to do a “controlled release” in order to get the chemicals out of the intact cars. The cars were opened, and the chemicals that were inside began to rush out into the environment. An ominous, black mushroom cloud of noxious gas and smoke rose into the sky, stretching out for miles. Just a few days later, air and water tests declared the area to be safe, and East Palestine residents were told they could return. A few minutes later, there were trains driving through the town on the same tracks as if nothing had happened.
However, returning residents were far from satisfied with the results. Many reported nausea, lightheadedness, tingling, rashes, and headaches, which they believed to be a result of the chemicals. A few days later, videos captured by East Palestine residents surfaced online of people throwing shoes and sticks into creeks near East Palestine. As the objects hit the creek bed, a shimmering film of chemical waste would coat the surface of the water.
Chemicals on the surface of East Palestine Creek water. (Credit: WCPO)
And yet, the water and air had been declared safe by Norfolk Southern’s testing, or so they said. The visible impacts on the area of East Palestine told a different story.
The results of the disaster were apocalyptic. Most of the wildlife in East Palestine left. Hundreds of fish were found dead in creeks and ponds. “I got a neighbor, and right now, he’s puking blood,” said an East Palestine resident in an interview with a reporter from More Perfect Union. “He works right there in the main part of it [...] they need the money.”
It was later revealed that the testing done by CTEH, one of the companies Norfolk hired to run tests on the environment, was not compliant with EPA standards. Yet, Norfolk still sent a pamphlet to every East Palestine resident in the vicinity of the disaster. “We’ve dug up 4,600 cubic yards of soil, and collected 1.7 million gallons of water” reported a Norfolk Southern official on CNN. However, problems continued to arise. One resident told reporters that she was diagnosed with contact dermatitis following exposure to chemicals in East Palestine. Norfolk Southern and the cleanup crews they hired continued to say that the symptoms were unrelated to the disaster, and that there was no evidence that the environment would be harmful to humans.
East Palestine later held a three-day event in which national figures, including Norfolk officials and environmental experts, gave speeches from a wide range of perspectives to a concerned audience of East Palestine residents. At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency declared that they would take over the next step of cleanup. In practice, however, this meant that Norfolk would continue to direct the cleanup efforts, while the EPA oversaw the operation and monitored progress. The EPA stated that they planned to make Norfolk foot the bill for cleanup, and, if they failed, force them to pay three times the cleanup cost while they took over. Unfortunately, the EPA does not have a good track record in terms of following through on their plans. The EPA declared that, from the results of their own air and water tests, that the area was safe. Texas A&M researchers however, when given the same data, found elevated concentrations of 9 different chemical pollutants in the air and water.
To this day, no one knows what the long term health effects of the disaster will be. The burning of tankers full of vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen and toxic chemical, outputs dioxins into the air, which can harm residents’ health years after they are first released. Vinyl chloride and other chemicals seep into the groundwater, where East Palestine residents drink from, but the aeration practices that cleanup crews are using to clean the creek water are not being done in wells or reservoirs, while water fountains in schools remain open. Still, the federal government refuses to get involved. The residents have been left to fend for themselves, and they are doing everything they can to get some semblance of justice from the railroad company.
The results of the disaster were apocalyptic. Most of the wildlife in East Palestine left. Hundreds of fish were found dead in creeks and ponds. “I got a neighbor, and right now, he’s puking blood,” said an East Palestine resident in an interview with a reporter from More Perfect Union. “He works right there in the main part of it [...] they need the money.”
It was later revealed that the testing done by CTEH, one of the companies Norfolk hired to run tests on the environment, was not compliant with EPA standards. Yet, Norfolk still sent a pamphlet to every East Palestine resident in the vicinity of the disaster. “We’ve dug up 4,600 cubic yards of soil, and collected 1.7 million gallons of water” reported a Norfolk Southern official on CNN. However, problems continued to arise. One resident told reporters that she was diagnosed with contact dermatitis following exposure to chemicals in East Palestine. Norfolk Southern and the cleanup crews they hired continued to say that the symptoms were unrelated to the disaster, and that there was no evidence that the environment would be harmful to humans.
East Palestine later held a three-day event in which national figures, including Norfolk officials and environmental experts, gave speeches from a wide range of perspectives to a concerned audience of East Palestine residents. At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency declared that they would take over the next step of cleanup. In practice, however, this meant that Norfolk would continue to direct the cleanup efforts, while the EPA oversaw the operation and monitored progress. The EPA stated that they planned to make Norfolk foot the bill for cleanup, and, if they failed, force them to pay three times the cleanup cost while they took over. Unfortunately, the EPA does not have a good track record in terms of following through on their plans. The EPA declared that, from the results of their own air and water tests, that the area was safe. Texas A&M researchers however, when given the same data, found elevated concentrations of 9 different chemical pollutants in the air and water.
To this day, no one knows what the long term health effects of the disaster will be. The burning of tankers full of vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen and toxic chemical, outputs dioxins into the air, which can harm residents’ health years after they are first released. Vinyl chloride and other chemicals seep into the groundwater, where East Palestine residents drink from, but the aeration practices that cleanup crews are using to clean the creek water are not being done in wells or reservoirs, while water fountains in schools remain open. Still, the federal government refuses to get involved. The residents have been left to fend for themselves, and they are doing everything they can to get some semblance of justice from the railroad company.
EP Strong
As the smoke clears, more and more East Palestine residents are consolidating their resources to bring a suit against Norfolk Southern, forcing them to compensate East Palestine for the damage caused by Norfolk’s recklessness. Earlier this March, law firms Lynch Carpenter and Seeger Weiss partnered up to help bring a class action lawsuit for East Palestine residents.
“You have a company, Norfolk, absolutely putting profits before people. Last year they made $4.8 billion, but at the same time they are cutting employees that they need, they are cutting safety measures,” argued Kelly Iverson, a partner at Lynch Carpenter. And the Carpenter-Weiss suit isn’t the only one, either. 26 organizations including schools, retirement boards, and even the state of Ohio are filing federal lawsuits against Norfolk for damages to people and property in East Palestine.
While the spirit of hope is in the air, East Palestine residents still worry about the future. Norfolk Southern said that it will not comment on pending litigation. As of now, the company has only given a measly $11 million to residents for relief, spread out over the entire town. This is in comparison to the over $4 BILLION in payouts that Norfolk gave to shareholders in 2022 alone.
Payouts to Norfolk shareholders over the last 20 years (Credit: More Perfect Union)
Norfolk has promised more reimbursements for East Palestine residents, but none of them even come close to what the residents are asking for. The damage caused by the derailment created problems that could last for years. While East Palestine demands justice, Norfolk Southern continues to operate itself business-as-usual.
Unfortunately, the East Palestine disaster is far from the only freight rail disaster that happened because of Norfolk Southern’s negligence. On March 4th, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in Calhoun County, Alabama. On March 6th, another Norfolk train derailed near Springfield, Ohio. While no one was injured and no toxic chemicals were spilled, Norfolk officials confirmed that there were potentially harmful chemicals including ethanol and liquid propane aboard the Ohio train, which could have spilled if the tankers carrying them fell off of the tracks. It’s not just Norfolk either. On March 19th, a freight train carrying several cars loaded with trash derailed near Ayer, Massachusetts. Officials say that the train was being operated by Norfolk Southern engines, but the company responsible for the train was CSX, another large railroad company in the US. Still, railroads aren’t quick to make reforms. ECP brakes have not been installed, staff headcount continues to decline, and safety practices have changed little, if at all. On March 1st, Norfolk said it plans to install another 200 heat detectors along the line where the East Palestine train derailed. As of writing this, they have yet to actually deliver on that promise. Meanwhile, trains continue to operate across the country, regardless of the fact that nothing has been done to prevent another derailment like the one in East Palestine.
Unfortunately, the East Palestine disaster is far from the only freight rail disaster that happened because of Norfolk Southern’s negligence. On March 4th, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in Calhoun County, Alabama. On March 6th, another Norfolk train derailed near Springfield, Ohio. While no one was injured and no toxic chemicals were spilled, Norfolk officials confirmed that there were potentially harmful chemicals including ethanol and liquid propane aboard the Ohio train, which could have spilled if the tankers carrying them fell off of the tracks. It’s not just Norfolk either. On March 19th, a freight train carrying several cars loaded with trash derailed near Ayer, Massachusetts. Officials say that the train was being operated by Norfolk Southern engines, but the company responsible for the train was CSX, another large railroad company in the US. Still, railroads aren’t quick to make reforms. ECP brakes have not been installed, staff headcount continues to decline, and safety practices have changed little, if at all. On March 1st, Norfolk said it plans to install another 200 heat detectors along the line where the East Palestine train derailed. As of writing this, they have yet to actually deliver on that promise. Meanwhile, trains continue to operate across the country, regardless of the fact that nothing has been done to prevent another derailment like the one in East Palestine.
Conclusion
The future of East Palestine, Ohio is, in a word, uncertain. No one knows what the long term effects of the damage will be, or how they will affect those who still live in East Palestine.
One thing, however, is for certain. The East Palestine disaster was no accident; it was the result of years of corporate greed, negligence, and recklessness. Rail workers and citizens suffered while their bosses traded stocks and lined their pockets, keeping themselves in business with failed response efforts, false reassurances, and empty promises. Throughout the entire ordeal, the federal government never once got involved, save for the “oversight” given by the EPA. If the federal government had allowed itself to impose stricter regulations on companies like Norfolk Southern, disasters like the one in East Palestine could have been prevented. And unless they do, derailments will continue to happen. The legal efforts of East Palestine residents are admirable, and seeing a small town of working class people go toe-to-toe with one of the largest rail companies in the nation brings hope that the victims of corporate greed can fight back against it, bringing justice for themselves and their communities. But until the government decides to force companies like Norfolk to adopt safe and innovative practices that will prevent harm, the money will keep flowing. And as long as the money is flowing, nothing is going to change.
Because while we may see what Norfolk Southern is doing as dangerous, immoral, and unjustifiable, all they see is “the cost of doing business.”
Isaiah Pinzino
