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Jill Stein, the presidential Green Party candidate, 2016 file image.
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Green Party’s Stein slams government, railroad during town hall meeting

Mark Lennihan / Associated Press

Green Party’s Stein slams government, railroad during town hall meeting

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein said the government and big business short-changed residents of the East Palestine, Ohio, area in dealing with environmental problems and lingering health concerns from the Norfolk Southern train derailment last year.

Ms. Stein, 73, a physician, held a town hall meeting Saturday in Darlington, Beaver County, where about 40 people filled the township municipal building seven miles from East Palestine.

“Industries like Norfolk Southern that are responsible are making out like bandits,” Ms. Stein said.

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In early February 2023, part of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, and several tank cars filled with chemicals caught fire. Toxic substances including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate were released into the air, soil and water.

“Their profits are skyrocketing,” she said of the railroad. “There are solutions proposed by the railroad workers that would have prevented this.” 

In January, however, Norfolk Southern reported that it’s fourth-quarter profit fell 33% because of the ever growing costs of the cleanup as a result of the derailment. The railroad said it did deliver 3% more shipments during the quarter but that even without the costs related to the derailment, its profits still would have been down 14%.

Although the cleanup is still underway, community members have asked for more testing and questioned the veracity of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other government tests concerning their health and safety. 

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Ms. Stein hosted the town hall meeting with independent scientist Scott Smith, who said he has found elevated readings of dioxin in the area. He agrees with residents that more follow-up testing is necessary.

Ms. Stein took issue with how President Joe Biden and environmental authorities have responded to the disaster. The president visited East Palestine last month.

“On day one, the president can fix this. He can instruct the EPA to properly protect this community, and that means to move everybody out right now who is at risk and to make testing widely available for every household, for every person, so they can be informed and empowered.

“Are you or not in an at-risk zone? Is your property contaminated or not? Is the water contaminated or not? We have to err on the side of protection,” she said.

Relocation money from Norfolk Southern is running out for about three dozen East Palestine residents. As of last month, there were no plans by the EPA or Norfolk Southern to retest those residents’ homes for chemicals.

Claiming illnesses from the toxins spewed by the train derailment, Krissy Ferguson, 50, who lives near the derailment site, dropped to her knees and begged for help during the meeting.

“This has to stop. This has been over a year. I want to talk to the shareholders of Norfolk Southern, Vanguard, Black Rock. We are hurting. We need help.”

Ms. Ferguson said she hopes Ms. Stein’s visit will bring in others to assist residents with health issues and concerns about moving back to their homes.

Ms. Ferguson said she doesn’t want to move back to her “contaminated home,” scheduled for May.

Ms. Stein said the public is cynical about government institutions. 

“It’s not only our regulatory agencies but also the government, you know, and the Cabinet and the White House. It’s all one big happy family of elites that are throwing everyday working people under the bus and over the cliff.

“What gives me hope is communities like East Palestine, that you are standing up and leading the way.”

Ms. Stein also took issue with how long it takes industry and government to recognize health problems. As an example, she cited lead, which has been used in household paint and pipes that carry drinking water.

“The disaster of lead began in the early 1900s. It took almost 100 years to get the proof,” she said.

“What was the proof? A body count. That is how we prove the toxicity of chemicals. We need to protect people in advance and a regulatory system to protect people in advance.”

First Published: March 3, 2024, 12:38 a.m.

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Jill Stein, the presidential Green Party candidate, 2016 file image.  (Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)
Mark Lennihan / Associated Press
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