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“人們確實會避開我”：一列有毒列車脫軌事故如何將一個村莊一分為二
'People do avoid me': How a toxic train derailment split a village in two
https://www.npr.org/2024/02/05/1228772709/east-palestine-train-derailment-norfolk-southern-lawsuit-epa
2024 年 2 月 5 日，美國東部時間上午 5:01
作者：Scott Detrow、Erika Ryan、Tinbete Ermyas
俄亥俄州東巴勒斯坦 38 輛貨車脫軌一年後，事故現場仍在積極建設中。
壓實機隆隆駛過，將土壤壓平。銀色和綠色的油罐車排成一排，吸走並運走廢水。無人機在頭頂嗡嗡作響，勘察工作。這是大規模環境清理的最後階段，諾福克南方鐵路公司已經為此花費了 8 億多美元。
2023年2月3 日，脫軌的車廂引發了一場大火，有毒煙霧噴向東巴勒斯坦上空。其中 20 節車廂裝有危險材料，包括氯乙烯，後來在控製燃燒中點燃，以防止發生更大規模的爆炸。
雖然一年後現場的清理工作取得了實質性進展，但東巴勒斯坦社區卻四分五裂、精疲力竭，許多居民準備繼續前進，盡管其他人繼續對空氣和水表示擔憂。
餘波仍在繼續
自事故發生以來，諾福克南方鐵路公司一直在努力清理——而且是在巨大的政治壓力和監管審查下這樣做的。
“我們到達這裏時，車子都著火了。這仍然是當時的緊急反應，是為了控製局勢，”諾福克南方鐵路公司環境運營區域經理克裏斯托弗·亨西克 (Christopher Hunsicker) 說道。
諾福克南方鐵路公司環境運營區域經理克裏斯托弗·亨西克 (Christopher Hunsicker) 帶領 NPR 參觀了清理現場。
伊麗莎白·吉利斯 (Elizabeth Gillis)/NPR
火車脫軌後，諾福克南方鐵路公司開始評估環境損害。然後，他們清除了所有含有毒素的土壤和石灰石，並將其運往有執照的垃圾填埋場。
現在，該公司正在進行最後一步：用幹淨的土壤替換挖出的土壤。
一年後，事故現場仍在施工。
伊麗莎白·吉利斯 (Elizabeth Gillis)/NPR
亨西克告訴 NPR，清理工作可能會持續整個夏天，但確切的結束日期將由數據和環境監管機構決定。
美國環保署表示，東巴勒斯坦的空氣和水是安全的。這是根據對該鎮供水和私人水井以及空氣的定期檢測得出的結論。
但一些外部專家質疑這些測試是否足夠敏感，鎮上的許多人表示，脫軌事故發生後，他們感到惡心、皮疹和其他不適。
一年後，事故的影響仍然存在。
清理工作仍在進行中。
伊麗莎白·吉利斯/NPR
事故現場附近唯一一家仍處於關閉狀態的商店是一家名為 Leake 的加油站。泵和加油站的小便利店都被圍起來了。
克裏斯蒂娜·迪爾沃思在那裏工作，直到脫軌事故導致加油站關閉，但這並不是她生活的唯一改變。
迪爾沃思過去一年大部分時間都住在附近的一家 Best Western 酒店。她說她去年春天開始感到不舒服——惡心、頭痛、皮疹——住在離事故現場這麽近的地方讓她感到不舒服。
諾福克南方鐵路公司支付了迪爾沃思和其他人的搬遷費用，迪爾沃思於 5 月首次入住 Best Western 酒店。該公司於 12 月宣布，將在一年左右停止支付搬遷費用。諾福克南方鐵路公司表示，目前仍有大約 30 戶家庭使用該鐵路，高峰期約有 200 戶。
克裏斯蒂娜·迪爾沃思仍然擔心脫軌事故可能對健康造成的影響。
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
加油站的泵和便利店仍然用柵欄圍起來。
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
現在，迪爾沃思回到了東巴勒斯坦。
她告訴 NPR，她知道她在酒店的長期逗留——以及她對社區空氣是否安全的直言不諱的擔憂——已經使她被鎮上許多人排斥，這些人要麽準備從脫軌事故中走出來，要麽更關注諾福克南方鐵路公司向東巴勒斯坦投入的數億美元。
市場街牆上的壁畫，市場街是東巴勒斯坦的商業和社區中心。
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
“我盡量不和太多人說話，”她說。“我在酒店時確實受到批評。現在我回來了，我確實覺得有些人確實在躲著我。”
迪爾沃思承認她最終可能會搬家。她加入了一場集體訴訟，重點是要求諾福克南方鐵路賠償損失，並希望最終達成的和解能幫助她重新開始。
“如果 10 年後每個人都健康，沒有人生病，沒有人得癌症，那就太好了，”她說，
提出了許多東巴勒斯坦人提出的假設性擔憂。“但我們不知道，我也沒有十年的時間坐等。”
她首先承認，許多東巴勒斯坦人並不這麽認為。許多人已經向前看，或者認為像她這樣的人要麽誇大其詞，要麽試圖從諾福克南方鐵路公司獲得更多資金。
如何前進
上周，一列貨運列車隆隆地駛過東巴勒斯坦。
伊麗莎白·吉利斯/NPR
一年後，諾福克南方鐵路公司的火車每天多次穿過東巴勒斯坦。
家庭和企業門前掛著各種各樣的標語：“EP Strong”和“我們是東巴勒斯坦：為美國曆史上最偉大的複興做好準備。”
許多東巴勒斯坦人厭倦了談論脫軌事件，尤其是與記者交談。
在整個東巴勒斯坦，標語和貼紙是驕傲和堅韌的象征。
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
“我要告訴你：我感謝所有從新聞中來到這裏的人，但我不喜歡那些公開抱怨事情的人，”東巴勒斯坦居民喬伊斯·戴維斯一天早上在村莊主幹道旁的甜甜圈店 Sprinklz 喝咖啡時說道。
“這裏沒什麽可抱怨的。如果沒有人在這裏幫助我們，也沒有人幫助我們清理這個地方，我可以看到他們抱怨。但事實並非如此。”
戴維斯目睹了脫軌事故，甚至有當晚的手機視頻。她住在最初的疏散區內，不得不離開家五天。
喬伊斯·戴維斯分享了她拍攝的脫軌事故後的視頻。
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
她帶著她的狗，但每天都會說服她回去喂養她的其他寵物，其中包括貓、蛇和狼蛛等寵物。
從那時起，戴維斯說她就不再擔心了。她的井水經過檢測，沒有問題：“你不能一輩子都擔心 10 年後會發生什麽。我養了很多很多戶外小貓，沒有一隻因此生病。”
一年後，東巴勒斯坦正在找到前進的道路。
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
解決分歧一直是東巴勒斯坦市長特倫特·康納威的工作。
“百分之八十的人隻??是希望我們……繼續前進。完成任務。努力回到我們曾經的狀態，”他說。 “然後 10% 的人不知道該怎麽想。而其餘的人 [認為] 這是東巴勒斯坦可能發生的最糟糕的事情，它將永遠帶來毀滅性的影響，我們永遠無法擺脫它。”
對於康納威來說，這是充滿挑戰的一年。擔任市長甚至不是他的全職工作——他在附近的石灰石礦工作——但他剛剛贏得了又一個任期，並表示這很可能是他的最後一任。“我感覺自己一年來一直生活在迷霧中，我不會撒謊，”他說。
為了彌合這種分歧，康納威說關鍵是透明度和信息，但他理解社區中一些成員的恐懼。
許多居民希望脫軌可以成為過去。
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
但經過一年的複蘇，康納威說情況比他 12 個月前的想象要好得多。
“說實話，去年 2 月 6 日至 7 日，我甚至不知道今年我們是否還會有一座城鎮，”他說。“天色很暗，尤其是當我們選擇通風和燃燒時。”
鑒於此，康納威對未來幾年更加樂觀。
“我認為我們會恢複正常，”他說。“我的意思是，這隻是文化問題。我認為三四年後，沒有人會記得東巴勒斯坦，”他說。“所以，你知道，我們拭目以待吧。”
'People do avoid me': How a toxic train derailment split a village in two
A freight train passes through East Palestine, Ohio, a year after the derailment.
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
A full year after 38 freight cars derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, the crash site is still under active construction.
Compactors rumble by, smoothing the soil. Silver and green tanker trucks line up to suck up and carry off water discharge. Drones buzz overhead, surveying the work.
It's the final stage of a massive environmental cleanup that has already cost Norfolk Southern more than $800 million.
On Feb. 3, 2023 the derailed cars triggered a massive fire, belching toxic smoke into the air far above East Palestine. Twenty of the cars contained hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, which was later set on fire in a controlled burn to prevent a larger explosion.
Portions of the Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the previous night in East Palestine remain on fire at mid-day, Feb. 4, 2023.
And while the cleanup effort at the site itself has made substantial progress one year later, the East Palestine community is divided and exhausted, with many residents ready to move forward, even as others continue to raise concerns about the air and water.
The fallout continues
Ever since the crash, Norfolk Southern has been trying to clean up – and has been doing so under intense political pressure and regulatory scrutiny.
"When we got here, there were cars on fire. This was still the immediate response, it was getting that situation under control," said Christopher Hunsicker, Norfolk Southern's regional manager of environmental operations.
Christopher Hunsicker, Norfolk Southern's regional manager of environmental operations, gives NPR a tour of the cleanup site.
Once the train was taken off the tracks, Norfolk Southern began assessing the environmental damage. It then removed all of the toxin-laced soil and limestone, and shipped it off to licensed landfills.
Now, the company is working on the last step: replacing what it dug up with clean soil.
Construction is still happening at the site of the crash one year later.
Hunsicker told NPR the cleanup will likely continue through the summer, though the exact end date will be determined by data and environmental regulators.
The EPA says the air and water are safe in East Palestine. That's according to regular testing of both the town's water supply and private wells, as well as the air.
But some outside experts question whether those tests were sensitive enough, and many of the people in the town said they felt sick with nausea, rashes and other ailments in the wake of the derailment
One year later, the effects of the crash still linger.
The cleanup is ongoing.
The one business near the crash site that's still closed is a gas station called Leake. The pumps and the station's small convenience store are fenced off.
Christina Dilworth worked there until the derailment closed it down, but that's not the only way it changed her life.
Dilworth spent most of the past year living in a nearby Best Western hotel. She said she started to feel sick last spring – nausea, headaches, rashes – and just didn't feel comfortable living so close to the crash site.
Norfolk Southern paid for Dilworth and others to relocate, and when Dilworth first got to the Best Western in May. The company announced in December it would stop paying for relocation around the one year mark. Norfolk Southern says about 30 households are still using it, and that at its peak, around 200 were.
Christina Dilworth remains worried about possible health impacts of the derailment.
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
The pumps and convenience store at the gas station remain fenced off.
Now, Dilworth is back in East Palestine.
She told NPR she knows that her extended stay at the hotel – and her outspoken concern about whether the community's air is safe – has ostracized her from many people in town who are ready to move on from the derailment, or are more focused on the hundreds of millions of dollars Norfolk Southern has poured into East Palestine.
A mural on the wall on Market Street, a central place for business and community in East Palestine.
"I try not to talk to too many people," she said. "I did get criticized when I was at the hotel. Now I'm back, and I do feel like some people do avoid me."
Dilworth accepts that eventually she will likely relocate. She joined a class action lawsuit focused on extracting damages from Norfolk Southern, and hopes any eventual settlement would help her start over.
"It'd be wonderful 10 years from now [if] everybody's healthy, nobody got sick, nobody got cancer," she said, raising the hypothetical concern that many people in East Palestine bring up. "But we don't know that and I don't have 10 years to sit around and wait."
She's the first to acknowledge that a lot of people in East Palestine don't feel this way. Many people have moved on, or think people like her are either exaggerating or trying to get more money from Norfolk Southern.
How to move forward
A freight train rumbles through East Palestine last week.
A year later, Norfolk Southern trains clang through East Palestine several times a day.
There are all sorts of signs in front of homes and businesses: "EP Strong" and "We Are East Palestine: Get Ready For The Greatest Comeback In American History."
Many people in East Palestine are sick of talking about the derailment, and particularly talking to reporters.
Across East Palestine, signs and stickers are a sign of pride and resilience.
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
"I'll tell you what: I appreciate all the people coming here from the news, but I don't like the ones who get on there and publicly ... gripe about things," East Palestine resident Joyce Davis said one morning as she drank coffee at Sprinklz, a donut shop along the village's main drag.
"There's nothing to gripe about here. If nobody was here helping us, and we had nobody to help clean this place up, I could see them griping about it. But that is not the case."
Davis witnessed the derailment and even has cell phone video from that night. She lives inside the initial evacuation zone, and had to leave her house for five days.
Joyce Davis shares video she took of the derailment aftermath.
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
She took her dogs with her, but talked her way through road blocks every day to go back and feed the rest of her brood of animals, which includes cats, snakes and tarantulas, among other pets.
Since then, Davis said she hasn't been worried. Her well water gets tested, and it's fine: "You can't spend your whole life worrying about what might happen 10 years down the road. And I have many, many outside kitty cats and not one of them got sick over that."
A year on, East Palestine is finding its way forward.
Navigating the divide has been the job of Trent Conaway, the mayor of East Palestine.
"Eighty percent of the people just want us to ... move on. Be done. To try to come back to where we once were," he said. "And then 10% just don't know what to think. And the rest [think] this was the worst thing that could ever happen to East Palestine, and it's going to be devastating forever, and we'll never get back from it."
It's been a challenging year for Conaway. Being mayor isn't even his full-time job – he works in a nearby limestone mine – but he just won another term in office and says this will likely be his last. "It's like I've been living in a fog for a year, I'm not going to lie," he said.
To heal that divide, Conaway said the key is transparency and information, but he understands the fear felt by some members of the community.
Many residents hope the derailment can be left in the past.
Elizabeth Gillis/NPR
But a year into the recovery, Conaway says things are significantly better than he thought they would be 12 months ago.
"Tell you what, February 6th-7th of last year, I did not know if we'd even have a town this year," he said. "It was pretty dark, especially when we chose to do the vent and burn."
Given that, Conaway is more optimistic about the next few years.
"I think we'll get back to normal," he said. "I mean, it's just the culture. I think in three or four years, nobody will even remember East Palestine," he said. "So, you know, we'll see."
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