EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Norfolk Southern says it has reached an agreement for $600 million to settle class action lawsuits following last February’s fiery derailment and chemical burn. A federal judge still has to approve the settlement. The news did not go over well in East Palestine, Ohio or Darlington Township, Pennsylvania, which sit just a mile from the derailment site.
Laurie Harmon lives steps from the railroad in East Palestine. She called the settlement a slap in the face. Once the roughly 100,000 people who are part of the suit and attorneys’ fees are factored in, some individuals are only looking at a few thousand dollars.
Harmon was evacuated during the chemical crash. A couple of months later, she says rashes started cropping up all over her body. She showed us the second and third-degree burns that she says are covering 60 to 80% of her body. Some of those rashes were biopsied and stitched up.
“It’s been a living nightmare,” Harmon said. “Every time I came outside, I would get burns. The burns started May 1, 2023, after they started digging out the pits, hauling the chemicals out. I don’t want anything from Norfolk Southern. I want my life back.”
Harmon estimates her medical bills have exceeded $500,000 and when the U.S. EPA tested her soil, she said the results showed formaldehyde throughout.
“They can’t explain it,” Harmon said talking about the rashes. “Well, I can explain it. I have chemical toxicity.”
Just a couple of miles away, across the state line in Darlington Township, Beaver County, neighbors say the $600 million can’t justify entire communities being poisoned. John Mitchell says he worries about the health of his wife and kids.
“You don’t know what it’s going to cost you down the road,” Mitchell said. “People die of cancer and your lungs die out. They say they’ve tested the soil and it’s fine, but who’s to say who tested the soil? It’s just like the people who tested the water. Who do they work for?”
A federal judge still has to approve the settlement. Roughly 100 thousand people in a 20-mile radius will be a part of the class action suit. More people are able to join the class action lawsuit with consideration given to those closer to the derailment site and more impacted. A judge has not ruled on a deadline.
The settlement only covers individuals and businesses. Darlington Township, the Commonwealth of PA and the State of Ohio are all in negotiations with Norfolk Southern.
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