Norfolk Southern says ‘fake’ hazard notices are being placed on East Palestine homes

COLUMBIANA COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) - Flyers warning of hazardous chemicals inside some East Palestine, Ohio homes are “fake” and being used to “scare the residents,” according to Norfolk Southern.

“These brightly colored orange papers with text that reads: “HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS INSIDE Thank you Norfolk Southern #epstrong” are not the actions of Norfolk Southern,” the Atlanta-based railroad company said Monday. “If you see these notices, you can remove them.”

Norfolk Southern said the flyers are “unnecessary attempts to scare the residents of the town, and cause confusion in the community.”

Hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate their homes earlier this month when a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caught fire.

Norfolk Southern said general and in-home air monitoring has “not shown any detections of substances related to the incident and does not indicate a health risk.”

Alan Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern, visited East Palestine on Saturday following criticism about his company’s response to the fiery Feb. 3 derailment.

“In every conversation today, I shared how deeply sorry I am this happened to their home,” Shaw said. “We are going to do the right things to help East Palestine recover and thrive again.”

On Monday, Norfolk Southern said 15,000 pounds of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water had already been excavated from the derailment site.

More than $3.4 million in direct payments have been made to over 2,200 families impacted by the derailment, according the company.

U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan will be back in East Palestine Tuesday, along with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, to provide an update on the derailment and controlled explosion of five railroad cars carrying the chemical vinyl chloride.

Around-the-clock air monitoring continues in the area, the U.S. EPA said Monday, and data shows the air quality in the community remains normal.

At least 551 homes have been screened “with no exceedances for residential air quality standards,” according to the EPA.

The agency said East Palestine’s municipal well water sample results also continue to show no water quality concerns.

Residents who want home air or water monitoring should contact the Residential Re-Entry Request Hotline at (330) 849-3919

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