Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent a letter to the CEO of Norfolk Southern on Sunday demanding accountability along with a better response to the rail disaster that has devastated the community in East Palestine, Ohio.
He also warned the freight rail company must show leadership from the very top and “demonstrate unequivocal support for the people” after the fiery train derailment that led to the release of chemicals into the air and water table of the impacted area.
AP reports a disappointed Buttigieg wrote:
Norfolk Southern must live up to its commitment to make residents whole — and must also live up to its obligation to do whatever it takes to stop putting communities such as East Palestine at risk.
This is the right time for Norfolk Southern to take a leadership position within the rail industry, shifting to a posture that focuses on supporting, not thwarting, efforts to raise the standard of U.S. rail safety regulation.
The transportation secretary’s letter read as a warning to Norfolk Southern, further outlining: “It is imperative that your company be unambiguous and forthright in its commitment to take care of the residents — now and in the future.”
The missive comes 48-hours after it was revealed the state plans to open a medical clinic in the village of 4,700 to check their symptoms while local residents simply want Buttigieg to resign in the wake of his bungled handling of the disaster:
Ohio State Senator Michael Rulli (R) also told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Saturday that Buttigieg “needs to resign right now” over the train derailment
Peter DeCarlo, a professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins University, told ABC News on Sunday more testing is needed to determine which chemicals are present.
“We just don’t have the information we need to understand what chemicals may be present,” DeCarlo said, according to the AP report. “We know it started as vinyl chloride, but as soon as you burn that all bets are off. You have a lot of chemical byproducts that can happen from a combustion process like that.”
Asked if he would move back to East Palestine if he were already living there, DeCarlo said: “I have two little boys. I would not.”
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw issued a statement on Saturday revealing he “returned to East Palestine today to meet with local leaders, first responders, and a group of Norfolk Southern employees who live in the area.”
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of the controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk and Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
“In every conversation today, I shared how deeply sorry I am this happened to their home,” Shaw said.
The Atlanta-based company has created a website with updates, NSMakingItRight.com.