Ohio residents suing Norfolk Southern press judge to block it from destroying crash evidence

Ohio residents who filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern over the derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials through East Palestine urged a judge on Monday to block the company from destroying evidence related to the crash.

Reuters reported that attorneys for the residents asked U.S. District Judge Benita Yalonda Pearson to give their experts more time to investigate the crash site. They said that Norfolk Southern only allowed them two days to investigate the wreckage, which they argue is not enough.

Norfolk Southern told the judge that the company was on a strict schedule ahead of a March 10 deadline that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set for them, noting that taking longer to clean up could delay their efforts to remedy the situation, according to Reuters.

The EPA ordered Norfolk Southern last week to clean up the wreckage caused by the train derailment and cover all costs associated with it.

The EPA later temporarily halted the removal of contaminated waste from the site as state officials raised concerns about the shipment of contaminated waste to their states.

In a press release on Monday, Ohio state officials said that about 280 tons of contaminated soil were disposed of at a waste disposal facility in Michigan before the EPA paused the removal. The release also said that two 26-cubic-yard boxes of contaminated soil were sent to a wast disposal facility in East Liverpool, Ohio, on Monday.

In a press release Sunday, state officials said all but 11 rail cars were removed from the crash site. The 11 remaining cars were being held as part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the derailment.