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In East Palestine derailment trial, railroad and chemical maker agree on who pays residents

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In East Palestine derailment trial, railroad and chemical maker agree on who pays residents
News

News

In East Palestine derailment trial, railroad and chemical maker agree on who pays residents

2025-04-18 05:04 Last Updated At:05:11

Norfolk Southern reached an agreement with one of two companies about how much each side will help pay for a $600 million class-action settlement, which the railroad agreed to after the disastrous 2023 Ohio train derailment and toxic chemicals that were released and burned.

This lawsuit doesn’t change anything about how much money people will receive from the settlement or any payments to the village of East Palestine or anyone else — those are all established in various settlement agreements. This case only affects which companies have to write the checks to pay for the class-action settlement, which is separate from the cost of the massive environmental cleanup.

The railroad and OxyVinyls, the chemical company that made the vinyl chloride that was released and burned after the derailment, announced the settlement Thursday in the midst of the ongoing trial over who should pay people affected by the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The two companies didn't disclose any details of the agreement in their brief statement.

The third company involved in the lawsuit, GATX, which owned the railcar that caused the derailment, declined to comment on the settlement. The case is expected to go to the jury next week in a trial that began late last month.

Residents are still waiting to receive most of the money from the settlement because of pending appeals, although some payments have started to go out.

After the train derailed in East Palestine, an assortment of chemicals spilled and caught fire. Then three days later, officials blew open five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride because they feared those cars might explode, generating a massive black plume of smoke that spread over the area and forced evacuations.

The potential health consequences from the derailment remain a concern for many residents.

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed in its investigation that the vent-and-burn operation was unnecessary because the tank cars were starting to cool off and the railroad failed to listen to the advice from OxyVinyls’ experts or share their opinions with the officials who made the decision.

But during the trial, Norfolk Southern raised questions about conflicting information that OxyVinyls' representatives on scene and at headquarters provided as officials were deciding whether to release and burn the vinyl chloride.

Norfolk Southern has said all along that it believes OxyVinyls should help pay because the railroad says the chemical manufacturer provided inconsistent and inaccurate information about its vinyl chloride before officials decided to burn it.

Last year, Norfolk Southern lost a similar lawsuit when it tried to force GATX and OxyVinyls to help pay for the environmental cleanup after the derailment, which has cost the Atlanta-based railroad more than $1 billion. It made similar arguments in this trial to get help paying for the class-action settlement.

FILE - This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

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Spain will limit access to Madrid's airport to try to prevent homeless camping

2025-05-16 15:29 Last Updated At:15:31

MADRID (AP) — Spain's airport authority will start to limit access to Madrid's airport during some parts of the day as a preventive measure to stop more homeless people from sleeping in its terminals.

Only travelers with boarding passes, airport employees and those accompanying someone with a ticket will be allowed to enter the airport during hours with few departing and arriving flights, Spain's airport authority AENA said late Wednesday night.

AENA said the limits would be implemented sometime in the the next few days, but did not specify exactly when or during what hours of the day.

For months, the Spanish capital's airport has seen homeless encampments in some of its terminals with individuals in sleeping bags occupying space near walls and bathrooms. Local media described the number of homeless people to be in the hundreds.

This week, AENA said it had asked Madrid city officials for help in addressing the problem months ago, but so far has received insufficient help.

“Airports are not places designed for living in, but rather are infrastructure solely for transit, which in no case offers adequate conditions for overnight stays,” AENA said in a statement Wednesday.

A political blame game between authorities at different levels of government has left the issue largely unaddressed before the peak summer travel season.

Spain received a record 94 million international tourists in 2024.

People sleep on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People sleep on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People sleep on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People sleep on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People sleep on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People sleep on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People sleep on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People sleep on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

FILE - Iberia jets are seen in a parking zone as police walk through the airport during a Iberia airline workers strike at Barajas international airport in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

FILE - Iberia jets are seen in a parking zone as police walk through the airport during a Iberia airline workers strike at Barajas international airport in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

A person sleeps on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Monday, May 12, 2025. (Diego Radames/Europa Press via AP)

A person sleeps on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Monday, May 12, 2025. (Diego Radames/Europa Press via AP)

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