East Palestine, Ohio

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.

The creeks around East Palestine, Ohio, were so badly contaminated by last year's disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment that some workers became sick during the cleanup.

People who live near East Palestine, Ohio, can now get $25,000 apiece for any injuries they sustained after last year's Norfolk Southern freight train derailment on top of whatever money they get for property damage as part of the $600 million class-action settlement.

The EPA's Inspector General is investigating why the agency didn't get its specialized plane loaded with advanced sensors into the air over East Palestine until four days after the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment last year.

The train crash spilled an assortment of hazardous chemicals from tank cars that ruptured, and days after the derailment, officials decided to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside because they worried the cars might explode.

Area residents, rail industry representatives and local and state officials packed East Palestine High School's auditorium Tuesday to hear the NTSB's investigation findings and recommendations to prevent similar disasters.