East Palestine, Ohio

The village highlighted accomplishments since the February 2023 train derailment, including a new logo, website, social media, monthly newsletter and filming council meetings.

Two years ago, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in the small town on the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Several studies are ongoing to see what the public health impact of the accident is.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted what’s called an ACE survey of 700 area residents conducted after the chemical exposures. It found that people had headaches, coughing, difficulty breathing, and other symptoms.

The settlement is to be used for priorities the village identifies in connection with the derailment, but it also recognizes about $13.5 million that Norfolk Southern has already paid to the village, according to the joint announcement posted Monday on the village's website.

Class-action attorneys who negotiated with Norfolk Southern have said the appeal will add significant administrative costs for the firm disbursing person injury payments to people who lived or worked within 20 miles of the derailment site.

Lawyers haven't provided any breakdown of how many of the roughly 55,000 claims they received are for injuries and how many are for property damage, nor have they said how much each person will receive. Only 370 households and 47 businesses opted out of the deal.

Many residents of East Palestine, Ohio, expressed outrage online over the weekend about the appeal because it will delay the payments they had been counting on to help them recover from the toxic train crash that disrupted their lives when it spewed hazardous chemicals into their community. Some people had planned to use the money to relocate.

The lawyers who negotiated the deal with Norfolk Southern on behalf of everyone affected by the disastrous February 2023 derailment said only 370 households and 47 businesses in the 20-mile (32-kilometer) radius around the derailment opted out of the property damage payments.

A spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based railroad that is one of North America's six largest declined to offer any additional details about the nature of the allegations against Alan Shaw, who was promoted to the top job in the spring of 2022 after decades at Norfolk Southern.

It's not clear whether the judge will rule on their motion before Thursday's deadline for people who live within 20 miles (32 kilometers) of the derailment to file a claim.