Opening Frame
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Tank cars carrying hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, ignited and released toxic plumes over the town. Ten days later, controlled burns left residents staring at a blackened sky. Officials told them the air was safe. Animals were dying, families were coughing, and rivers ran with sheen.
The derailment was not an accident in the colloquial sense. It was the direct result of policy decisions: deregulation of the rail industry, prioritization of shareholder returns, and the erosion of federal safety enforcement. East Palestine was less a disaster than an inevitability.
A Town as Collateral
East Palestine, population 4,700, is the kind of town often absent from policy debates — rural, working-class, economically stagnant. Its location made it convenient for rail passage, inconvenient for corporate accountability.
When residents demanded clarity, officials offered platitudes. When reporters asked questions, rail executives declined to appear. The town became a test case of how quickly a community can be declared safe when economic imperatives require trains to keep moving.
Rail Deregulation in Context
The roots of the derailment stretch back decades:
- Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR): An industry trend emphasizing efficiency, cutting staff, and running longer trains with fewer crews.
- Brake rules rolled back: In 2018, under Trump, the Department of Transportation rescinded an Obama-era rule requiring modern electronic brakes on hazardous trains. Norfolk Southern lobbied against the rule.
- Regulatory capture: The Surface Transportation Board and Federal Railroad Administration have long been pressured to balance safety with industry “competitiveness.” Safety loses.
The derailment in East Palestine was not exceptional. It was symptomatic of an industry designed to treat risk as acceptable collateral.
Environmental Consequences
Burning vinyl chloride creates dioxins — highly toxic compounds that persist in soil and accumulate in the food chain. Residents reported rashes, headaches, and chemical odors. Dead fish surfaced in nearby waterways. Pets became ill.
Officials reassured the public that tests showed “safe” levels. But testing methodologies were opaque, thresholds disputed, and trust absent. The pattern was familiar: first deny harm, then minimize, then quietly settle years later when evidence becomes undeniable.
Political Responses
- Federal: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg faced criticism for slow response, arriving in East Palestine weeks later. The administration promised accountability but avoided new regulatory commitments.
- State: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine downplayed risks, prioritizing reopening rail lines.
- Industry: Norfolk Southern pledged cleanup, but emphasized rail service continuity. Their stock rebounded within days.
The gap was clear: political leaders measured success in rail movement, not public safety.
Structural Patterns
East Palestine revealed three patterns of American governance in 2023:
- Communities as expendable. Rural towns are sacrificed to corporate logistics, then forgotten.
- Accountability deferred. Settlements, fines, or policy adjustments come only years later, if at all.
- Narratives managed. Officials emphasize “no long-term risk” while evidence remains incomplete.
For residents, this was not a news cycle. It was a permanent alteration of their environment and health.
Closing
East Palestine should not be remembered as an accident. It should be remembered as the consequence of deregulation, corporate lobbying, and political negligence. A small town burned, its people gaslit, its environment poisoned. And yet the trains keep moving.