Written by: Meghann Principe
As the impact and handling of the February 3rd Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio is ongoing, it may be helpful to compare it to another similar incident.[1] In East Palestine, a train made up of more than one hundred cars derailed.[2] Of these one hundred cars, ten cars containing hazardous materials derailed.[3] Five of these cars contained vinyl chloride, a gas that is a known human carcinogen.[4] This derailment caused flames to erupt and evacuation orders to be put in place.[5]
On September 28, 1982, in Livingston, Louisiana, an Illinois Central Gulf train derailed at five a.m.[6] Thirty-six of the one hundred and one cars on the train derailed.[7] Of these thirty-six, thirty-four of the cars contained an assortment of flammable petroleum products and various non-regulated or regulated hazardous or toxic materials.[8] Similar to the train derailment in East Palestine, the Livingston train derailment also released vinyl chloride, along with many other chemicals.[9]
According to eyewitnesses of the Livingston derailment, two of the cars containing vinyl chloride exploded “like rockets.”[10] At least 200,000 gallons of toxic chemicals leaked into the soil as a result of the derailment.[11] Testing, cleanup, and monitoring efforts in Livingston continued for over thirty years.[12] One toxin in particular, perchloroethylene, was quickly absorbed into the soil and was unable to be burned or eradicated whatsoever.[13] It was not until 2015, thirty-three years later, that a possible solution was even imagined to complete the decontamination of Livingston.[14]
Immediately following the derailment in Livingston, a class action lawsuit was filed by local attorneys against Illinois Central Gulf Railroad.[15] The class action in Livingston was settled in 1985.[16] The settlement was for $39 million, which was utilized for cleanup, testing, maintenance, and payouts for at least 3,400 residents.[17] As for juveniles located in Livingston during the derailment, payout shares were instead directed into trusts that were then court-managed.[18] Further, the $39 million settlement was directed toward thirty years of funding for a Livingston health clinic to provide blood testing as well as water monitoring. [19] This settlement provided free health screenings to all residents, as well as the development of the Intergovernmental Commission, whose mission it was to supervise the cleanup efforts for as long as they took.[20]
Another important effect seen today from the derailment was that the Louisiana State Police began implementing protocols to teach crew members how to identify the safest and most effective ways to decontaminate chemicals, how to develop communication between agencies as well as with the public, and how to decide when it is necessary to evacuate.[21] However, this effect has only been seen within the Louisiana state system, and has not been prioritized on a federal scale.[22]
The 1982 train derailment in Livingston, Louisiana is thought to be the most analogous environmental disaster in recent times to the ongoing train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.[23] As of the end of February, at least fourteen lawsuits have been filed in East Palestine.[24] Already, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that Norfolk Southern has been ordered to provide funding for all cleanup and monitoring efforts.[25] If Norfolk Southern fails to pay, the EPA will pay and Norfolk Southern will be charged three times the original cost.[26] It is important to note that the East Palestine derailment involved less cars containing less hazardous material as the Livingston derailment.[27] Although the environmental impacts of the Livingston derailment were felt even as recently as 2015, experts are hopeful that the East Palestine derailment will be handled more efficiently with Norfolk Southern prepared to foot the bill.[28]
[1] Rebekah Riess, Hannah Sarisohn, & Christina Maxouris, Train derailment in northeastern Ohio sparks massive fire, CNN (Feb. 4, 2023), https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/04/us/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-fire/index.html.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Douglas B. Feaver, Investigator Says Clerk Ran Train While Two in Crew Imbibed, The Washington Post (Nov. 16, 1982), https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/11/16/investigator-says-clerk-ran-train-while-two-in-crew-imbibed/d6d67d1e-b02e-44cc-8608-abea5f3cfba6/.; See also Robert Burke, Hazmat Studies: Livingston, LA, Train Derailment – 36 Years Later, Firehouse (April 1, 2018), https://www.firehouse.com/rescue/hazardous-materials/article/12398893/livingston-la-train-derailment36-years-later-hazmat-studies-robert-burke.
[7] Supra Burke; note 1.
[8] Supra Feaver; note 1.
[9] Id.
[10] Supra Feaver; note 1.
[11] Supra Burke; note 1.
[12] Id.
[13] Steve Hardy, Cleanup following 1982 train derailment in Livingston near an end, The Advocate (Dec. 16, 2015), https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/communities/cleanup-following-1982-train-derailment-in-livingston-near-an-end/article_876eb30c-dd37-5b7b-8f5f-a248c15b453f.html.
[14] Id.
[15] Evan Bush, ‘Déjà vu’: A train derailment 40 years ago holds clues for East Palestine’s future, NBC (Feb. 25, 2023), https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/east-palestine-train-derailment-future-rcna71638.
[16] Id.
[17] Id.; see also supra Hardy; note 13.
[18] Supra Hardy, note 13.
[19] See supra Bush, note 15.
[20] Supra Hardy, note 13.
[21] Id.
[22] Id.
[23] See generally supra Bush; note 15.
[24] Supra Bush; note 15.
[25] Alex Guillén, EPA orders Norfolk Southern to pay for train crash clean-up, Politico (Feb. 21, 2023), https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/21/epa-norfolk-southern-crash-clean-up-00083777.
[26] Id.
[27] See generally supra Bush; note 15.
[28] See generally id.