The hits keep coming for Norfolk Southern over the Feb. 3 derailment that released chemicals that affected the air, land and water in East Palestine, Ohio.
The Western Beaver School District, which serves several rural communities near the Ohio border, sued the railroad in federal court in Pittsburgh last week on negligence and related claims.
It’s the second Pennsylvania district to sue over the incident. The Blackhawk district sued last month. Several Ohio districts have also sued, as has the U.S. Department of Justice.
All blame the railroad for what happened and want the federal court system to hold it accountable for cleaning up the mess and establishing long-standing health and environmental monitoring.
The Western Beaver suit said it has suffered “substantial injuries” from the derailment, including the evacuation of students and residents from their homes, medical problems such as rashes and breathing issues, contamination of water and soil and the need for ongoing testing of the property and the health of students.
The claims are similar to those raised by the other districts and the DOJ.
The derailment, the suit said, was “directly” caused by the railroad’s “breach of their duty of care by negligent and/or reckless acts and omissions.”
In specific, the suit said Norfolk Southern failed to maintain and inspect its railways and devices; failed to route trains hauling hazardous materials away from populated areas; failed to ensure that there were enough defect detectors on the route to warn about malfunctioning axles on railcars; and failed to train employees in safe operation procedures.
The suit said Norfolk Southern also failed to properly contain the spread of chemicals and didn’t communicate the risk of exposure to toxins released when the railroad burned off the chemicals to avoid an explosion.
The suit is asking that Norfolk Southern be forced to pay for ongoing testing and monitoring.
Like the Blackhawk suit, the goal of the suit is to put court-ordered programs in place to make sure the railroad pays for what it did — and not the taxpayers.
Ten rail cars hauling hazardous materials derailed on Feb. 3. Five of those cars were carrying vinyl chloride. The railroad set up an evacuation zone and then conducted a controlled release of the chemical.
The Western Beaver district covers the small rural communities of Industry, Glasgow and Ohioville. It encompasses about 34 square miles and has about 750 students in two schools.
Torsten covers the courts for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Reach him at jtorsteno@gmail.com.
