As a representative for Norfolk Southern tried to apologize and outline its recovery efforts, residents shouted over him at a meeting in East Palestine, Ohio, demanding that the company “do the right thing.”
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Frustrations boiled over on Thursday night in the largest public confrontation yet between the people of East Palestine and the operator of the freight train that derailed nearly a month ago, with angry residents in an emotional town hall lashing out at the lone representative from Norfolk Southern who took questions at the meeting.
As Darrell Wilson, a top government relations official for Norfolk Southern, tried repeatedly to apologize to the community and outline the company’s recovery efforts, residents interrupted and shouted over him, demanding that he commit to getting them out of the area, and that the company “do the right thing.”
“We are sorry,” Mr. Wilson said. “We’re very sorry for what happened. We feel horrible about it.”
“Evacuate us!” one person yelled, over Mr. Wilson’s apologies. “Get my grandchildren out of here!” another man yelled. “If you care about us, get our grandkids out.”
Standing before Mr. Wilson and an assortment of environmental, health and political officials in the auditorium of East Palestine High School, residents vented and pleaded, describing how their families were still living in hotels or experiencing lingering health problems, including repeated vomiting and rashes.
They told the officials how they felt trapped, with few resources to move away from the homes they had spent their lives building, and demanded more answers about the validity of the testing done on their air, water and soil.
Norfolk Southern had abruptly pulled out of a previously scheduled meeting last month, citing unspecified threats to officials.
The fiery clash underscored how deeply anxiety and mistrust still run in East Palestine, a town of about 4,700 people, after the derailment on Feb. 3. The decision to burn the train’s cargo of vinyl chloride and other chemicals in order to avert the threat of an explosion heightened fears in the community about the long-term consequences of chemical exposure, and the meeting on Thursday night appeared to do little to assuage them.
Earlier on Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency said it had instructed Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins, toxic pollutants that could have formed after the chemical burn-off. And last month, the E.P.A. issued an order that not only demanded that the company pay for all cleanup associated with the disaster, but also required that it “attend and participate in public meetings at E.P.A.’s request” — including Thursday’s town hall.
But the continued discontentment with both the rail company and government agencies was evident just minutes into the meeting.
“Why did you wait so long?” one man yelled out as Debra Shore, the E.P.A. regional administrator, explained the February order and the requirement to test for dioxins. As the director of the Ohio E.P.A., Anne M. Vogel, reiterated that testing of the water had yet to show high levels of contaminants, another woman yelled out: “What about private wells? We’ll just stay here and die.”
And as E.P.A. officials reiterated that dioxin testing had begun, people yelled out, “Start now!” and “It’s too late!”
Dioxins can cause cancer, interfere with hormones and cause damage to reproductive and immune systems, according to the E.P.A. While the toxic pollutants are already present in many environments — they can be byproducts of burning fuel, among other things — the E.P.A. has been working for decades to reduce their production.
Ms. Shore also said the agency was working to approve a plan that would remove the railroad tracks, as well as the contaminated soil underneath. And she acknowledged that the derailment had upended homes that had been there for generations, pledging that her agency and others were committed to the recovery effort.
“We owe it to everyone, to everyone affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment, to ensure that you continue to build those roots, that future generations can continue to proudly call this area home,” she said. “That is what E.P.A. is working toward. And we will not be leaving until you are satisfied.”
It is Norfolk Southern that has faced the largest barrage of demands and intensifying scrutiny from lawmakers and officials, who are furious over not only the derailment, but also the consequences of the decision to burn off some of the toxic chemicals carried by the train.
Mr. Wilson, the company representative, repeatedly struggled to speak over the angry crowd on Thursday, even as he pledged that Norfolk Southern would continue to support the community and that it had signed a lease in the town.
“They're sending a representative because they’re scared,” said Courtney Miller, 35, who lives about 100 yards from the derailment site, she said. “They’re scared because we’re mad, we’re upset.”
“These people care, and I can’t leave them,” she added, her voice choking up. “So I will stand here and stomp my feet and be as loud as I can, until somebody does something and gets these people out of here. It’s not safe.”
While the company’s chief executive, Alan H. Shaw, separately made a trip to meet with local officials and some railroad employees last month, some residents were disappointed to not be able to confront him on Thursday.
At one point, someone in the crowd could be heard asking, “Where’s Alan?” Another person passed out T-shirts mocking the company’s logo, rebranding it as “Nofolk sufferin” and replacing the logo’s horse with a broken train.
Candice Desanzo, 43, who came to the meeting with her 1- and 2-year-old sons, said she was worried about their health and determined to speak to Mr. Shaw directly.
“If I did somebody wrong, I’m going to stand up and I’m going to face my wrongs,” she said. “And I’m just one simple human being — they’re a corporation.”
Like other residents, she expressed frustration with the race to ensure that trains were back running through the town as soon as the evacuation order had been lifted.
“Every time I hear a train, it makes me sick now,” she said. “It’s just mind-blowing to me how really ignorant they’ve been to us in every possible way that they could when they should be doing everything that they possibly can to help us.”
Mr. Shaw is also set to testify before a key Senate committee next week as lawmakers and state officials demand more information about what led to the derailment and the possible long-term effects on the region’s environment and public health.
“You’re going to determine the finish line — you’re going to determine when it’s made right,” Representative Bill Johnson, Republican of Ohio, said on Thursday, pledging a separate House hearing on the environmental response, along with a field hearing in the region.
President Biden, speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday after meeting with Senate Democrats, said that he “would be out there at some point” when asked if he would visit Ohio. He also confirmed that he would support legislation championed by the state’s two senators — Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and J.D. Vance, a Republican — and other lawmakers that would toughen railway safety regulations.
Both residents and rail workers have focused their concerns on the possibility of harmful exposure to the train’s cargo and any other chemicals that seeped into the community’s environment. In the days after the derailment, residents complained about migraines, rashes and a persisting chemical odor, even as preliminary data from government officials did not show significant levels of vinyl chloride or other dangerous chemicals.
On Wednesday, Jonathon Long, the chairman of the union branch that represents Norfolk Southern employees, including those helping clean up the site of the derailment, wrote to Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio condemning the railroad company and its treatment of its workers. He said he had been told that some of the workers were not given appropriate protective gear to wear, despite the threat of possible exposure, and that others had continued to complain about migraines and nausea days after the derailment.
As of Thursday, about 2.1 million gallons of wastewater and 1,400 tons of solid waste have been hauled away from the site of the derailment, according to data provided by Mr. DeWine’s office. Out of tests done on 151 private well systems, 57 samples have been verified and do not show worrisome contaminant levels, matching similar results from the municipal water systems.
Lisa Friedman contributed reporting.
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