The federal lawsuit follows the derailment of Norfolk Southern's trains carrying toxic chemicals along the Ohio-Pennsylvania line. About 50 out of 150 freight cars were derailed in the accident which occurred before 9 PM EST on Friday.
Medical Care for Residents
Two residents from Pennsylvania filed the lawsuit on Thursday, asking Norfolk Southern to cover medical screenings and related care for residents within a 30-mile of the accident, including damages that are yet to be discovered.
Of the 50 freight cars that veered off track, 20 carried hazardous materials, says the National Transportation Safety Board. The incident set off a fire that required hundreds of homes in the vicinity to be evacuated, according to Interesting Engineering.
Authorities warned that the fumes could be deadly if inhaled, as well as coming with risks of skin burns and severe lung damage. Regardless, they decided to release and burn the vinyl chloride inside five tanker cars, sending hydrogen chloride and the toxic gas phosgene into the air.
Railroad workers had already prepared drainage pits and embankments for the residue of the release. Environmental experts have also been monitoring the air and water affected by the accident. They claim that air and water conditions remain safe.
Signs of Toxicity
Even though officials and experts claim that the area is safe despite the toxic chemicals released, there have been indications that it has been affecting the residents in the area as well as the wildlife. Some residents already claim to have had headaches and felt sick.
There have also been reports of animals getting mortally ill and dying outside the evacuation zone. Taylor Holzer, a farm owner just outside the area of evacuation, said that the foxes he kept in his properties are getting sick.
He claimed that out of nowhere, a fox of his just started coughing hard and shut down. The animal also had liquid diarrhea and went very fast. Other foxes had watery eyes and puffy faces, as well as refused to eat for days, according to the New York Post.
Holzer claimed that the chemicals from the train is the only thing that could've caused it because the sickness doesn't happen out of nowhere. He then added that the chemicals they were told were safe in the air, were not safe for animals or people.
An environmental engineering professor from the University of Toledo, Ashok Kumar, said that inhaling vinyl chloride fumes can induce dizziness, nausea, headache, and complications in breathing.
Director of Ohio University's Air Quality Center, Professor Kevin Crist, also said that the chemical can cause cancer of the liver as well as other organs, He added that it's like an acid mist, and it's not "something you want around in high concentrations."
There were also reports of other animals being affected like chickens. North Lima resident Amanda Breshears said that her chickens were perfectly fine before they had some kind of burn until they slowed down and died.
She pointed out that if the chemicals can do this to chickens in just one night, imagine what it can do to people in 20 years. Being exposed to vinyl chloride can affect a person's liver, kidney, lung, spleen, nervous system, and blood, says the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
