On Feb. 3, 2023, 38 cars of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying more than 700,000 pounds of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen, went off the rails near East Palestine, Ohio, and created an extremely hazardous toxic spill.
Several rail cars burned for three days. The fire produced the poison gases phosgene and hydrogen chloride. Although government officials told residents that there was nothing concerning in the air or water, residents didn't believe them.
Norfolk Southern has already spent in excess of $800 million in cleanup and restoration, and that's not taking into account the numerous lawsuits that the 4,700 residents have filed or the probable health care costs that the company has promised to pay.
Residents are distrustful and afraid. Almost immediately after the accident, calls came from Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and other GOP politicians for President Biden to visit East Palestine to offer comfort and aid to the people. More than 10 months later, the residents are still awaiting a presidential visit.
“I feel like I don’t matter,” said Biden voter and resident Jessica Conard.
The White House insists that he's coming... eventually.
“The president continues to oversee a robust recovery effort to support the people of East Palestine, and he will visit when it is most helpful for the community,” said Jeremy M. Edwards, a White House spokesman.
No one in East Palestine believes him.
Donald Trump carried the town with 70% of the vote in 2020. And there are a lot of residents who believe Biden is refusing to come because the area is heavily Republican.
“I believe that it is political for him,” said Krissy Ferguson, who lives within a mile of where the train derailed. “I believe that if we were in a blue area, he would have come, and that hurts,” she said.
Trump visited East Palestine within days of the accident, telling the crowd in a speech: “You are not forgotten.”
Administration officials have defended the government’s response to the derailment, saying the Environmental Protection Agency and FEMA have deployed a steady stream of resources and hundreds of staff members to assess environmental and health risks. Many remain on the ground, officials said.
Mr. Biden also signed an executive order in September calling on federal agencies to continue conducting assessments to hold Norfolk Southern accountable, and he appointed a FEMA coordinator to oversee long-term recovery efforts.
What the people of East Palestine want more than anything is for their town to be included in a disaster declaration which would allow the state to "tap into more federal resources to help with recovery efforts, such as relocation assistance, crisis counseling, and hazard mitigation," according to the Times. But federal officials have denied that request, claiming that all of that is Norfolk Southern's problem.
There are exceptions to the rule. But after almost a year in limbo, the federal coordinator in charge of overseeing the company's response can't find the justification for the declaration.
Some residents resent the railroad's foot-dragging.
“We do not live in the United States of Norfolk Southern,” said Jami Wallace, who formed the Unity Council for EP Train Derailment to keep track of the community’s concerns. “We live in the United States of America.”
Members of the group say they want their government to take care of them. They want lifelong health screenings and benefits, long-term indoor air monitoring and testing that would detect and provide treatment for chemical exposures now and in the future.
Norfolk Southern has committed to cleaning up the damage — and is being monitored federally to follow through — but they want the kind of long-term commitment that they trust only the federal government can provide.
“When you look at Maui, you can see the devastation,” said Wallace, “but you can’t see chemicals in the air, in contaminated houses.”
Any criticism directed at Biden is well-earned. It's unconscionable that he hasn't visited East Palestine after almost a year. No one there is asking for a lot, just a sign that their government hasn't forgotten them.
Any effort to visit now will be seen as the president bowing to political pressure. And that's exactly what it is.
