US forces toxic train company to clean up contaminated area with threat of millionaire fines

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The government of United States sorted this Tuesday at the railway company South Norfolk covering the Total cost of cleaning up the contamination caused for the derailment of a train carrying toxic products, threatening to make him pay “triple” if he doesn’t comply. in allegedly multi-million dollar amounts.

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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in a statement that it has asked Norfolk Southern “identify and clean up soil and water resources contaminated” and “repay to the EPA for cleaning services to be provided to residents and businesses to be provided to greater peace of mind“.

The mayor of eastern Palestine, in a press conference, on the costs for cleaning up the area after the derailment.  Photo Bloomberg

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The mayor of eastern Palestine, in a press conference, on the costs for cleaning up the area after the derailment. Photo Bloomberg

It’s a legally binding orderindicated.

The EPA said it will approve a plan detailing all the steps needed to clean up the environmental damage caused by the derailment.

“If the company does not take the actions ordered by the EPA, the agency will intervene immediatelyit will do the necessary work and then try to force Norfolk Southern pay triple the cost“, he has declared.

“Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay to clean up the mess you created e due to the trauma inflicted on this community,” EPA Director Michael Regan said in the statement.

The company said it acknowledges that it has it “a responsibility”reports the AFP news agency.

An aerial photo taken with a drone shows a passing freight train as it continues cleaning - Photo EFE

An aerial photo taken with a drone shows a passing freight train as it continues cleaning – Photo EFE

“So far we have paid for the cleaning and we will continue to do so. We promise to clean the site completely and securelyAnd we are reimburse residents for the inconvenience it has caused to their daily lives,” said Norfolk Southern, which once again had another accident with a toxic train derailment, just days after the terrible fire broke out in eastern Palestine.

“We will learn from this terrible accident and we will work with regulators and elected officials to improve rail safety,” he added.

The administration of the president Joe Biden has tried to calm things down after the incident, while residents of the area They do not hide their anger AND concern about pollution and the possible consequences for the Health.

The first derailment of a toxic train, the “Ohio Chernobyl”

On February 3, near a town of about 4,500 inhabitants, about 80 km northwest of Pittsburgh the derailment occurred which disturbed the peace of the premises.

The train of 150 wagons it was hauling cargo from Madison, Illinois to Conway, Pennsylvania when it went off the rails.

A plume of black smoke over eastern Palestine, Ohio on February 6, 2023, following the controlled explosion of part of a derailed train.  AP Photo

A plume of black smoke over eastern Palestine, Ohio on February 6, 2023, following the controlled explosion of part of a derailed train. AP Photo

The accident caused the derailment of 38 rail cars, 11 of which were carrying hazardous materialsbetween them vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate and others chemicals, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency mandated by Congress to investigate crashes in the United States.

The chemicals have generated a huge fire and gas release toxic, also from vinyl chloride, a product carcinogenic chemical and highly flammable used in the production of plastics.

Several thousands of residents have been evacuated when the authorities have assessed the danger.

Some locals reported having had several symptoms, including headaches, and said they feared developing cancer in a few years. Some 3,500 fish died in nearby riversaccording to the local natural resources agency.

The authorities said so the air is “safe” and that tests of the municipal system’s water have found no contaminants, but residents are skeptical and some They’ve already sued the train company.

The second toxic train overturned, from the same company

less than two weeks latera second toxic train derailed in the United States and set off even more alarms for the series of similar accidents.

A formation that has passed through eBetween Atlanta and Detroit, in the state of Michiganlost the guide ea dozens of his wagons went off the trackmany of them, discharging on the surrounding grasslands.

The capsizing occurred near the city of Van Buren in the east-central part of the country. Despite it being a toxic freight train, authorities were quick to clarify that it was just one an affected train car was carrying hazardous materials and he was not one of those involved in the derailment of the big formation. Although later there was a version that suffered from another, less dangerous.

However, according to preliminary reports no sign of leak detected or damage that required a toxicological emergency. Belonged to the same railway company.

Source: Clarin

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