East Palestine
ODNR Chief: Signs of life now present in waters near train derailment after 40,000+ fish killed
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said Thursday they are encouraged by the signs of life reemerging in waterways near the East Palestine chemical spill, even after further observations showed more than 40,000 fish lost as a result of the spill. ODNR Director Mary Mertz said the department found 43,785 fish were lost, though less […]
A Norfolk Southern policy lets officials order crews to ignore safety alerts
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Norfolk Southern allows a monitoring team to instruct crews to ignore alerts from train track sensors designed to flag potential mechanical problems. ProPublica learned of […]
Pa.’s Shapiro blasts Norfolk Southern for ‘arrogance and incompetence’ in train derailment
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – Freight hauler Norfolk Southern showed “arrogance and incompetence” in how it handled a fiery train derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border earlier this month, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday. “The combination of greed, incompetence and lack of concern for our residents is absolutely unacceptable to me,” Shapiro said during a news […]
State Fire Marshal: First responders likely didn’t know hazardous substances were burning
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. When the call came in about a train derailment, first responders rushed to […]
‘For them it’s just one train.’ A view from East Palestine and an update on response efforts
Angela Hacker’s East Palestine home backs up to the train tracks. “Literally, my fence goes up against the railroad tracks,” she explained. “And when this happened, the train was stopped by my house for three days until they backed it out.” “That was the safe part of the train, but still — when you see […]
How can we prevent the next East Palestine?
Ohio is in the national news again, this time around a tragedy that sits at the crossroads of transportation, environmental policy, and public health. The high-profile train derailment at East Palestine, Ohio started as a shocking evacuation. It has since grown into an international story about the impacts of the derailment on the environment and […]
Federal government to send medical experts to site of Ohio train derailment
WASHINGTON — The federal government is sending medical personnel and toxicologists to conduct public health testing following the derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials that released into a small town near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. A team from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be on […]
How dangerous was the Ohio chemical train derailment? An environmental engineer assesses the risks
Headaches and lingering chemical smells from a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have left residents worried about their air and water – and misinformation on social media hasn’t helped. State officials offered more details of the cleanup process and a timeline of the environmental disaster during a news conference on Feb. 14, 2023. […]
After roundtable, Ohio Dems talk next steps following Norfolk Southern derailment
Ohio Statehouse Democrats have been in discussions with environmental groups and first responders to talk about how to help East Palestine recover from the toxic chemicals leaked as a result of a Norfolk Southern train derailment. Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, joined with Assistant Minority Whip Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo, and state Rep. Lauren […]
Ohio Attorney General dismisses charges against reporter arrested at East Palestine news conference
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Wednesday that the criminal charges filed against NewsNation reporter Evan Lambert after he was arrested during a news conference in East Palestine have been dismissed. The Ohio Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Section was appointed by the Columbiana County Prosecuting Attorney to handle the charges filed in Columbiana County Municipal […]
Ohio Gov. DeWine calls for stricter regulations on railways after East Palestine derailment
Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday that it’s “absurd” the train that derailed in East Palestine wasn’t designated a “high hazardous material train,” urging U.S. Congress to change the current regulations. “We should know when we have trains carrying hazardous material that are going to the state of Ohio,” DeWine argued during a news conference. The […]
Controlled release at Ohio derailment site prompts mandatory evacuations
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Monday that authorities were planning a “controlled release” of the vinyl chloride in five cars of a Norfolk Southern train that derailed Friday near East Palestine, Ohio. The release was scheduled to happen at 3:30 p.m. to avoid a potentially catastrophic explosion. Officials said the vinyl chloride in the derailed cars […]