The former Ohio senator promised residents better communication and transparency under the Trump administration and assured them that they are not forgotten.
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio—Promising better communication and transparency, and assuring residents that they are not forgotten, Vice President JD Vance visited East Palestine two years after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals into the air and ground.
Though officials from federal and state agencies have repeatedly said that tests show that the air and water are safe in East Palestine and surrounding communities, residents are still complaining about a toxic smell in the air, burning eyes, rashes, and headaches, among other health issues.
Norfolk Southern officials also maintain that ongoing environmental testing indicates that the air and water are safe. Many East Palestine residents still say they are uneasy and uncertain about the future and don’t trust federal and state agencies.
“We are committed not just to finishing the environmental side of the cleanup, but hopefully seeing East Palestine build back better and stronger and more prosperous than it was before this disaster happened in the first place,” Vance said.
“That’s not going to happen overnight. Of course, I’m a realist about this, but I just want the people to know here that President Trump, me, and the entire administration are committed to ensuring that their government does right by them and will keep on working at it in the months and the years to come.”
On Feb. 3, Vance was joined by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Jon Husted (R-Ohio) and new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin at a press conference inside the village’s fire station.
“I know how much of a priority that this is for Vice President Vance,” Zeldin said about addressing the disaster recovery in East Palestine. “And because it is such a priority for him, I will make sure that for the EPA, it is our highest priority day in, day out doing everything in our power to make sure this is completed as quickly as possible.”
Vance criticized the Biden administration for what he called a lack of transparency when he was a junior Ohio senator.
“I would say, ‘Well, when is the cleanup going to be done?’ And they‘d give me a date, and I’d call a couple weeks after that date and I‘d say, ’Is the cleanup done?‘ And they’d say, ‘No, it’s going to take another few months,’” Vance said of his communication with Biden administration officials.
“I’m not saying everything’s going to go perfect because it never does, but we’re always going to be honest and transparent with the people here.”
A Toxic Spill
Life abruptly changed in East Palestine at about 9 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2023, when a Norfolk Southern train derailed and crashed. Thirty-eight of the 151 cars derailed, including 11 that contained flammable toxic chemicals. Flames spread to an additional 12 cars.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, nine cars were carrying hazardous materials in addition to the 11 that derailed.
The hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, began to spill onto the ground and into the air.
As the fire continued, authorities on Feb. 6—fearing the risks of shrapnel from a major explosion—decided to carry out a controlled detonation of five cars, which sent a massive cloud of black smoke into the sky. Visible for miles, it was likened to the mushroom cloud caused by a nuclear weapon.
They called it a “controlled burn,” but residents claim that it was anything but controlled. A dark cloud of chemical-filled smoke could be seen for miles, and debris landed on properties several miles away.
The train cars were ruptured in the detonation and spilled the rest of their contents into a drainage ditch connecting to Sulphur Run, a stream that flows through the heart of East Palestine.
On Feb. 3, Vance vowed to continue long-term testing on the village’s air, waterways, and wells.
“People have to be confident that they can invest in a business here, that they can build a business here, that they can raise a family here,“ he said. ”That’s going to take the long-term commitment of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the whole administration, and that’s certainly something that people here can expect and they’ll have.”
Barbara Carr, 53, is an East Palestine resident who lives a mile from the crash site. On the morning of Feb. 3, she wore a cardboard sign around her neck with a handwritten message imploring Trump and Vance to help the community with its health issues and urging Norfolk Southern to take responsibility for the disaster.
“That train went right past our house,” Carr told The Epoch Times. “We threw away our bedding. Who wants to sleep on blankets that smell like toxic chemicals?”
Carr said that she has developed cancer since the derailment, and she already suffered from congestive heart failure. She said she would like the Trump administration to fund extensive and long-term health testing and Norfolk Southern to “fairly compensate” residents.
“What Norfolk Southern is doing—or is not doing—it’s unfair,“ Carr said. ”We didn’t ask for this. Their train did this to our community and the people who live here.”
In 2024, a judge ordered Norfolk Southern to pay $600 million to residents of East Palestine and surrounding areas as part of a class-action lawsuit.
Some residents are challenging the settlement and asking a court to reject a judge’s order that they pay a $850,000 bond to continue their appeal for more compensation and additional contamination information about the disaster.
About $300 million of the settlement is on hold because of the appeal.
Another agreement with the federal government is awaiting a judge’s approval.
Norfolk Southern settled with the federal government last May for an estimated $310 million. The railway company will pay $235 million for cleanup operations, $25 million for a 20-year community health program, and $15 million for an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act.
Morgan Parker lives in East Palestine near the crash scene with her two children and two dogs. She said she is concerned about the uncertain health implications of living in the village and would like Norfolk Southern to pay relocation expenses for residents who don’t want to stay.
“It’s insane this is happening in America. A company’s train crashes, releases toxic chemicals that pollute the air, ground, and water, and then that company makes promises they will make it right and instead just keeps on running train after train through town every day while the residents keep suffering,” Parker told The Epoch Times.
“For those of us who want to leave, we deserve to have Norfolk Southern take responsibility and give us what’s fair to relocate to an area where we feel safe. These are forever chemicals that are here. They’re not going away. I don’t want to keep raising my kids in a town where I don’t feel safe.”
Accountability
Vance promised on Feb. 3 that the Trump administration would hold Norfolk Southern accountable.
“I heard a lot about Norfolk Southern making promises to this community that it didn’t keep, and you can be damn sure that over the next six months, you’re going to hear a lot from the vice president of the United States and the entire administration,“ he said. ”If Norfolk Southern doesn’t keep these promises, we are going to talk about it and we are going to fight for it.”
Vance reiterated his support for the Railway Safety Act of 2023 at the press conference.
In March 2023, Vance joined then-Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and four other lawmakers in sponsoring the Railway Safety Act of 2023, a bill aimed “to prevent future train disasters like the derailment that devastated East Palestine.”
The measure, which remains stalled in the Senate, takes steps to improve rail safety protocols, such as enhancing safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, establishing requirements for wayside defect detectors, creating a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews, and increasing fines for wrongdoing committed by rail carriers.
“It shouldn’t take a massive railroad disaster for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people we serve—not corporations like Norfolk Southern,” Brown said.
Brown lost his seat in November 2024 to Trump-backed Republican Bernie Moreno. On Feb. 3, Vance said that Moreno and Husted, whom DeWine appointed to replace Vance, will work to help get the bill to the Senate floor and signed into law.
Vance added that with Republicans now holding the Senate majority, he is hopeful the measure will be passed.
“I’m bothered that it wasn’t brought up for a vote in the last Congress because we have the votes to pass it,” Vance said on Feb. 3. “I think things are a little bit different this time, and we’re going to make sure we get this right.”