FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 3, 2025
Berkeley, CA — Two years ago, to the day, Norfolk Southern’s freight train, already partially on fire, derailed and burst into flames in the small Ohio town of East Palestine. Fifty train cars derailed, almost half of which carried hazardous materials—the most toxic and highly combustible of them was vinyl chloride used only to make PVC. Adding insult to injury, Norfolk Southern, and its contractors, made the wrong decision to blow up five cars—what they called a controlled burn—which released toxics including vinyl chloride despite the known dangerous, health and environmental impacts that choice would have for many years. Today, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) is calling on the Trump administration to take meaningful action to protect impacted residents, who have been left without adequate support or accountability.
As is so often the case with petrochemical incidents, protecting frontline and fenceline community members takes a back seat to corporate interests. Residents were evacuated and then told to return, given limited and false information, no safety equipment or monitoring, and have been asking the Federal government for two years for an emergency declaration, which would entitle them to resources and assistance from the Federal government. The administration has made a number of such declarations in its first two weeks, but not for East Palestine. They only got a visit and some photographs.
“We’ve been told that everything is safe. The truth: For two years we have been exposed to dangerous chemicals, and no one has been held accountable,” said Jess Conard, East Palestine, Ohio resident. “Our community has been calling out for truth and action—not empty promises and more excuses. The Vice President pointed out that local leadership claimed economic development was the town’s biggest issue. This is simply untrue. Government leaders have repeatedly minimized the true impact of the health crisis we’re living through. We’re asking for existing legislation to be implemented so we can heal, but like so many other chemically impacted communities, it seems our pleas have once again been ignored.”
“What we really need is an end to the production of toxic petrochemicals and plastics. In the meantime, the government and the corporations producing and moving dangerous chemicals through our communities must be accountable, follow strict safety requirements, and commit to preventing harm,” said Jessica Roff, Plastic & Petrochemicals Program Manager at GAIA.
It’s well past time for the administration to uphold its obligation to protect the health and well-being of the people of East Palestine.
Press contacts:
María Guillén, Communications Coordinator, US/Canada, GAIA
mariaguillen@no-burn.org
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GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 1,000 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries. With our work we aim to catalyze a global shift towards environmental justice by strengthening grassroots social movements that advance solutions to waste and pollution. We envision a just, zero waste world built on respect for ecological limits and community rights, where people are free from the burden of toxic pollution, and resources are sustainably conserved, not burned or dumped.
