A Beaver County school district has sued Norfolk Southern over the train derailment last month in nearby East Palestine, Ohio.
The 27-page lawsuit, filed Thursday by the Blackhawk School District in federal court in Pittsburgh, alleges the district’s students are affected and will be affected by discharges of hazardous material from the initial derailment and the subsequent burning off of material in the derailed tank cars.
The suit states that “as a direct and proximate result, the Plaintiff has suffered, and will suffer, a multitude of substantial injuries, including, but not limited to, becoming a first responder, having its students and staff being forced to evacuate their homes for a substantial period of time; having its students and staff suffer medical problems including rashes, eye irritation, and respiratory problems; loss of the use and enjoyment of its property; contamination of its property, soil, and water; the need for substantial future monitoring of its property, soil, and water; increased risk of future disease for its students and staff; and the need for substantial future medical monitoring.”
On Thursday, Butler attorney Tom King, who filed the lawsuit, told Post-Gazette news partner KDKA-TV, "We're concerned what effects these toxic clouds have had in the materials in them on our property, on our buildings, on our vents, our air, our water, our quality of life. And we believe there should be monitoring going on to ensure the health and safety are maintained of the kids in the Blackhawk School District.”
First Published: March 23, 2023, 9:44 p.m.
Updated: March 24, 2023, 10:15 a.m.