Pa. senators press agencies over toxic train derailment in Ohio
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sen. John Fetterman and Sen. Bob Casey are weighing in on the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. This comes as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan heads to the site of the incident Thursday afternoon.
Documents from the railway company show that a total of 38 cars derailed on Feb. 3, and of the 20 cars filled with several hazardous chemical compounds carried by the train half of them derailed.
One of those chemicals, vinyl chloride, is a gas used to make plastic. According to the National Cancer Institute, it is a human carcinogen tied to liver cancer, brain and lung cancers, lymphoma and leukemia.
What Pa. senators are saying
The senators issued joint letters to the EPA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) pressing for accountability and action over the derailment.
In a letter to the EPA, the senators asked the agency to hold Norfolk Southern Railway Company accountable for the leak of hazardous materials into the environment. They are asking the EPA to require the transportation company to pay for the clean-up and to compensate residents and businesses who continue to need support.
"We appreciate the extensive air and water monitoring operations that have begun, but the impacted communities need further monitoring and assurance of the safety of their homes, their water, and their soil. Our offices are aware of reports of lingering odors and animal deaths," the senators said in a letter.
In their letter to the NTSB, they highlighted the concerns expressed by constituents, rail experts and railway workers over rail safety as the agency continues its independent investigation.
"We will use NTSB's findings and any pertinent safety recommendations to advance measures that Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation can implement to prevent derailments involving hazardous materials," the senators continued.
The Philadelphia area is highly vulnerable to dangerous train derailments
According to PennEnvironment, Philadelphia is directly threatened by dangerous train accidents and associated hazardous chemical leaks.
In a 2015 study, the organization found that approximately 710,00 people in the city live in evacuation zones are at the highest risk for a dangerous oil train accident. They say that almost every person living in zip code 19142 - encompassing Southwest Philadelphia - is in an evacuation zone. And 16 of the 25 zip codes with the most people at risk state-wide are in our area.
Notably, a similar train derailment happened in Paulsboro, New Jersey in 2012. Vinyl chloride was released after a tanker ruptured while the train was crossing a bridge over Mantua Creek. Residents in Gloucester County reported feeling dizzy or lightheaded due to the leak, according to an NTSB report.
The Clean Air Council, Philadelphia's oldest environmental non-profit, is now circulating a petition asking President Joe Biden and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to stop the transportation of liquified natural gas on the nation's railways.
The effort to assess the damage and impact of the train derailment continues. And while residents and officials continue to voice their concerns about water and air quality, the EPA says recent tests show there aren't present health concerns in either.
