Public Safety · East Palestine, OH
EPA Inspector General to Investigate Agency Response to 2023 East Palestine Derailment
The EPA Inspector General announced Tuesday an investigation into the agency's handling of the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, assessing whether the EPA had sufficient data to support public assurances that residents were safe. The review follows years of pressure from local residents and Vice President JD Vance, who questioned whether toxic chemicals lingered after officials vented and burned vinyl chloride from five rail cars. Resident Jami Wallace has tracked more than 80 area residents diagnosed with cancer since the derailment, though direct links to the spill remain difficult to prove. A $600 million class action settlement with Norfolk Southern remains largely tied up in courts, while a separate federal settlement including a $15 million fine and $55 million for medical exams and groundwater testing has been under judicial review for over two years.