Federal judge withholds approval of East Palestine settlement

NTSB concluded vent and burn was unnecessary based on misleading data

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — More than three years after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and a chemical-laden black cloud hovered over this town of 4,700, new claims are emerging about the risks residents faced then — and might still face now.

The fiery Feb. 3, 2023 accident involved 20 cars carrying hazardous chemicals. Norfolk Southern advocated burning five tanker cars of vinyl chloride it said could explode, and the plan unfolded three days later. During the so-called vent and burn of chemicals, residents within a one-by-two-mile area were evacuated for about two days, then told it was safe to return.

Norfolk Southern has since struck a $310 million consent decree with the federal government and the state of Ohio for cleanup costs, civil penalties, and funding for a 20-year community-health program and medical monitoring. But U.S. District Judge John R. Adams is withholding approval of the decree, saying he first wants to review the latest evidence and won’t “rubber stamp” the deal.

In a March ruling, Adams — appointed by President George W. Bush — wrote: “What happened in East Palestine was catastrophic.” He cited testimony from investigator Scott Smith, who said soil contamination persists in East Palestine and that dioxins and other compounds found in August 2025 far exceed background levels.

Newly released government documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Government Accountability Project, a group that works with whistleblowers, are now bolstering concerns residents say they have been voicing for three years.

The released documents include an analysis the EPA requested one month after the accident. It said a wind shift had pushed the plume back over East Palestine, and the atmosphere had kept material closer to the ground, with possible local health effects. The analysis wasn’t released publicly. An EPA spokesman said the Defense Department agency that produced the models had designated them “controlled unclassified information,” and not publicly releasable.

“They kept the truth to themselves and told the public there was nothing to worry about,” said Lesley Pacey, senior environmental officer with the Government Accountability Project.

The newly released documents also show atmospheric scientists initially projected 1,901 people could die and 17,972 nearby could be injured in a scenario where the chemical was converted into phosgene, a poisonous gas. On the day of the burn, a model still estimated 29 potential deaths and 163 injuries.

Mike Bastasch, an EPA spokesman, said the initial modeling requested by the agency assessed “an absolute worst-case scenario.” Later models used updated information, he said, and the projections were shared with state and local officials.

The judge noted in his ruling that the EPA had approved Norfolk Southern’s request to exclude five carcinogenic compounds from its soil testing — a request disclosed by a prior FOIA request from the Government Accountability Project. Stephen Petty, a chemical engineer and industrial hygienist, said the data was also flawed because the testing company hired by Norfolk Southern took background samples in contaminated areas, among other things. Smith and Petty have worked with the Government Accountability Project.

An EPA spokesman said the agency supported third-party data reviews but was confident in its methodologies. He declined to comment on ongoing litigation. The EPA has said the area is safe, following the vacuuming of chemicals from creeks and removal of more than 240,000 tons of contaminated soil, among other things. Norfolk Southern completed the cleanup under EPA oversight.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the burn was unnecessary and based on misleading and incomplete information from Norfolk Southern and contractors. Norfolk Southern has publicly disagreed, saying the only motivation in recommending vent and burn “was the health and safety of the community and first responders.”

A Norfolk Southern spokeswoman said the railroad has committed more than $135 million to community investment and revitalization and has restored the site and local waterways under government oversight, with “ongoing monitoring of groundwater, surface water and drinking water continuing today.” One recent day, new tennis courts at an East Palestine park that Norfolk Southern renovated at a cost of $25 million stood empty as the sky threatened rain.

Rep. Michael Rulli (R., Ohio), who represents the region, said the documents “raise serious questions about the information available to the Biden administration before the vent and burn.” His office, he said, was reviewing the information and public disclosures.

The released documents include internal emails between government scientists showing they monitored television news coverage with concern, wondering whether their maps and projections had made it on air. One email referenced a man, interviewed on TV, who described running toward burning tanker cars to get footage. “Yikes. If only he had seen our plots first, maybe he wouldn’t have done that,” one agency official wrote.

That month, Ohio officials found that more than 40,000 fish and other animals were killed along roughly 7 miles of streams. While no one died in the immediate aftermath of the derailment, residents allege ongoing health problems from the accident.

Christina Siceloff, 41, who lives in nearby Darlington, Pa., said she can still smell a faint chemical odor after a downpour. For months, she churned up a rainbow sheen of chemicals in local creeks to show they were still present. She stopped after developing asthma and tremors. A doctor diagnosed her with chemical exposure.

Siceloff participated, with 20,000 others, in the $600 million class-action settlement Norfolk Southern reached in 2024. She and her father received a total of $28,000 for property damage, and he got $1,400 for a personal-injury claim. She opted out of that agreement and, with more than 700 locals, joined a separate lawsuit against the railroad.

At a meeting with Trump administration officials in March in which Pacey discussed the government disclosures, Siceloff said she brought a list of 64 people who died from cancer since the accident. “One of the questions I keep asking people is what does justice mean to you?” she said.

Less than a mile from the tracks, a “sale pending” sign sat in Dana Kyker’s yard. Her husband died last year after a lung-cancer diagnosis. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in December and had surgery this year. Both gardened, and she thinks the accident contributed to their illnesses.

Kyker, 63, a former payroll accountant, and her husband received $42,000 for property damage. She now wants to return $12,000 she received for a personal-injury claim and join the same lawsuit as Siceloff.

In about a week, her brother will drive her and her dog, Henry, to Oregon to start over. For now, she said, the train whistle at night is hard to ignore. “It’s been a rough go here.”