Pennsylvania Governor demands criminal investigation into Norfolk Southern over toxic train derailment – as EPA orders the company to clean up the contamination
- PA Gov. Josh Shapiro said Norfolk Southern had made toxic clean up ‘harder’
- He has asked the state’s Attorney General to launch an investigation into crash
- The EPA has ordered the company to clean up any toxic examination
The state of Pennsylvania has requested a criminal investigation into Norfolk Southern, the rail company whose train derailed 18 days ago in East Palestine, Ohio.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro said the crash was caused by the company’s ‘greed, incompetence and lack of concern’ was ‘unacceptable’.
‘We’ve made a referral to the acting attorney general in Pennsylvania to review and acting Attorney General [Michelle] Henry can speak to that beyond my comments,’ he said.
The town of East Palestine is just one mile from the Pennsylvania border.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro said the crash was caused by the company’s ‘greed, incompetence and lack of concern’ was ‘unacceptable’
The site of the clear up. The EPA has ordered Norfolk Southern that it is responsible
Many residents there fear they may too have been exposed to toxic chemicals by the train derailment and subsequent controlled burning of the materials it was carrying.
Norfolk Southern has been ordered to clean up the site by the Environmental Protection Agency.
It was already fulfilling residents’ needs for new accommodation or food and water, with the Ohio AG threatening a lawsuit if it stopped.
The train derailed 18 days ago and while the NTSB investigation into the exact cause remains ongoing, many have blamed it on laxed safety.
‘They chose not to participate in the unified command, they gave us inaccurate information and conflicting modeling data, and they refused to explore or articulate alternative courses of action when we were dealing with the derailment in the early days,’ Governor Shapiro said.
CEO of Norfolk Southern Alan Shaw taking a walk outside of his Atlanta, Georgia home Sunday
Shaw is now in East Palestine to help with the clean up. He told DailyMail.com the company is ‘committed’ to the town’s residents
‘In sum, Norfolk Southern injected unnecessary risk into this crisis. They created confusion in this process. Thankfully, local leaders and leaders like Gov. DeWine were able to do our jobs even though Norfolk Southern made it harder.
‘We will hold Norfolk Southern responsible for any and all impacts to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to our residents and to our environment,’ he fumed.
The EPA has ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up any contamination at the site.
DailyMail.com confronted the company CEO outside his Atlanta home.
‘We remain committed to the citizens of East Palestine,’ Shaw told DailyMail.com Sunday.
Former President Donald Trump will visit the site tomorrow, putting President Biden – who is yet to comment on the disaster personally – to shame.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has finally announced his plans to visit the town, nearly three weeks after the crash.
The controlled burning of the train’s toxic cargo is feared to have sent toxins seeping into the town
