Jack Wolfsohn | Head Editor
February 21. 2023
An early morning train derailment in Ohio has caused chaos and concerns for public safety. The incident occurred at around 3:30 am local time on Monday when a freight train derailed near the city of Toledo. The train was traveling from Chicago to Pittsburgh when it derailed, causing several of its 22 cars to overturn.
The cause of the derailment is still under investigation, and authorities are urging residents to avoid the area until the situation has been resolved. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent a team to investigate the incident and determine what caused the train to derail. The investigation is expected to take several weeks.
According to initial reports, the train was carrying hazardous materials, including flammable liquids and gases. This has raised concerns about potential environmental and health hazards for residents in the vicinity. Emergency responders have established a perimeter around the site to ensure public safety, and residents living within a mile of the derailment have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Local news channels have been broadcasting images of the overturned train cars, which appear to have scattered debris over a large area. A plume of smoke can also be seen rising from the scene, which has caused concern among residents about potential air pollution. Several roads have been closed, and authorities are urging drivers to avoid the area.
This derailment comes after several years of railroad unions calling out companies for lowering production and safety standards in order to widen their profit margins. The company responsible, Norfolk Southern, had its most profitable year on record making 12 billion dollars last year.
Senior Jessica Polanco said, “If they made so much money, they could definitely pay to either clean up the environmental disaster or to temporarily relocate the residents to uncontaminated housing.”
Soon after the crash, Norfolk Southern attempted to settle with the residents of the city to prevent them from filing class action lawsuits. Their initial offer, 25k for the whole town (around 5 bucks per person) was shot down and they’ve since raised it to $1000 per person.
Near the derailed train (and closest to the burning chemicals), citizens pets have begun falling extremely ill and the tap water has been “sizzling.”
Senior Christian McCleary said, “Norfolk Southern should be more than just apologizing. They’ve destroyed the environment and town of entirely innocent residents and they’re likely going to get nothing more than some fines and a slap on the wrist.”
East Palestine recently had a town meeting to discuss the derailment that Norfolk Southern was supposed to attend, however, they backed out due to “fear for their safety.” Truthfully, I believe it’s a good start, they should be quite afraid.
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