Residents of eastern Palestine were outraged after Norfolk Sothern CEO Alan Shaw failed to appear at the town hall meeting for the second time.
The railroad, which was at the center of the February 3 chemical spill controversy, has promised to “clean up” the tracks as early as tomorrow morning, but local residents are not happy after the CEO missed the meeting and company officials worried citizens were icy towards .
“Where’s Alan,” several shouted towards the end of Thursday night’s town hall meeting.
Citizens received no answer as to the whereabouts of the mystery Shaw, who has been dodging the small Ohio town since the chemical disaster.
This is the second time the CEO, who makes $4.5 million, has failed to show up for residents of East Palestine as he failed to show up for the meeting two weeks after the derailment.
Norfolk CEO Alan Shaw failed to show up for Thursday night’s town hall meeting in eastern Palestine, when several citizens yelled, “Where’s Alan?”
Several residents took the witness stand to reiterate to those involved in the cleanup that their families cannot return to the city because they are “severely ill” and many are suffering from headaches and projectile-like vomiting.
Now cleaning staff are also getting sick. Workers helping to clean up toxic materials at a train derailment experience migraines and nausea.
The revelation came on Wednesday in the form of a letter from union leaders to the White House and the Ohio governor, alleging workers may have been exposed voluntarily to harmful chemicals on instructions from Norfolk Southern, the company that owns the derailed freighter .
Within hours, the letter prompted a meeting between union leaders and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the Feb. 3 derailment — and its potential impact.
Officials confirmed Thursday that the meeting focused on possible railroad safety improvements, as well as the 40 workers who were dispatched to the clean-up site in eastern Palestine, Ohio, last month and their above-mentioned symptoms.
Several local residents took the witness stand to reiterate to those involved in the cleanup that their families cannot return to the city because they have become “seriously ill”, many of whom have been suffering from headaches and projectile-like vomiting since the train derailment (pictured) .
Now cleaning staff are also getting sick. Workers helping to clean up toxic materials at a train derailment experience migraines and nausea
Meanwhile, Norfolk Southern remains under close scrutiny over the incident. The company’s CEO, Alan Shaw, is poised to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee next week amid calls for renewed railroad safety regulations.
His company has publicly promised to clean up an estimated 30,000 truckloads of toxic waste caused by the wreck, while vowing to invest in eastern Palestine for the “long term”.
Despite promises to invest in the small town, residents are unconfronted by Shaw’s record attendance and his company’s plan to clean up the spill.
A railroad representative, Darrell Wilson, said they were ready to begin removing contaminated soil from under their tracks at 6 a.m. tomorrow. It is unclear when the operation will begin.
A railroad representative, Darrell Wilson (pictured on the stand), said they were ready to start removing contaminated soil from under their tracks at 6am tomorrow. It is unclear when the operation will begin.
However, local residents are unhappy as their farmland and residential areas are still contaminated, they claim.
“We’re going to clean up the site, we’re going to test,” Wilson said Thursday night. He also claimed that it took so long to start the cleanup because it took time “to find where.” [the contamination] Is.’
To which local residents yelled back, “It’s everywhere!”
Norfolk Southern’s plan is to first excavate the south track, remove the contaminated soil, and then switch to the north track, where the cars derailed. However, residents fear that if both tracks are maintained at the same time, the south side will be contaminated again.
Local residents are demanding that trains stop running on those tracks until the cleanup is complete, but Wilson seemed irritated by the suggestion.
“You said you wanted to dig it up, so we have a plan for it,” Wilson said in an icy tone. “It’s simple technique.”
The EPA has ordered Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins. In a press release today, the agency said: “[The] EPA will require Norfolk Southern to conduct a background study to compare dioxin levels in eastern Palestine with dioxin levels in other areas unaffected by the train derailment.’
If high levels of dioxins are found in the area, the EPA will order an immediate cleanup.
“In response to concerns communicated to me by residents, the EPA will require Norfolk Southern to directly collect dioxin samples under agency supervision and direct the company to conduct an immediate cleanup if any contamination from the derailment is found at any level , which endangers people’s health,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan read in the press release.
Several local residents also complained to the town hall meeting that they were having trouble getting someone to their home to be tested for chemicals. A man in a nearby town said his “skin fell off” after touching something on his property and had to move his children from the area.
Describing the terrifying moment, Wilson didn’t have much to say except, “See a doctor.”