Sen. Sherrod Brown is blaming corporate greed for the train derailment and massive chemical fire in East Palestine, Ohio.
The Ohio Democrat told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Norfolk Southern Railway, which operates the tracks upon which the derailment occurred, failed to make adequate investments.
“This is really the same old story. Corporations do stock buybacks. They do big dividend checks, they lay off workers,” said Mr. Brown, who is slated to face reelection in 2024. “They don’t invest in safety rules and safety regulations, and this kind of thing happens.”
He noted that two other Norfolk Southern trains had derailed in recent weeks. One occurred in October near Sandusky, Ohio, and the other happened last week in southeast Michigan.
Both derailments, however, paled in comparison to the incident in East Palestine, where a train carrying hazardous materials derailed two weeks ago and sparked a large chemical fire.
The derailment forced East Palestine residents to evacuate as toxic gas spilled into the atmosphere near the small town in northeastern Ohio.
Norfolk Southern’s corporate leadership is working with state and federal officials to rectify the situation.
But Mr. Brown said the incident would not have happened in the first place if not for the company’s greed.
“The railroads are simply not investing the way they should in [railway] car safety and then in the rail lines themselves,” he said.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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