Biden to visit train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio
President Biden will visit East Palestine, Ohio, in February to commemorate the first anniversary of the toxic derailment that plunged the small community into a health and environmental crisis, the White House announced Wednesday.
Mr. Biden has faced criticism from political leaders and residents for postponing a visit he had promised a month after the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment. The White House did not specify when Mr. Biden would visit in February.
The Biden administration has sent a steady stream of resources to East Palestine and is overseeing cleanup efforts by Norfolk Southern, the railroad responsible for the derailment. The administration has maintained that the company should be held responsible for cleanup costs and other legal remedies.
But political pressure has increased as residents expressed deep fears about continued contagion and Republicans focused on the issue. Former President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Biden's likely rival in the presidential campaign, visited eastern Palestine and told the crowd: “You are not forgotten.”
In January, both the mayor and residents of eastern Palestine sent letters to the White House asking Mr. Biden himself to visit and listen to their ongoing concerns.
In a Jan. 12 letter obtained by The New York Times, Mayor Trent Conaway wrote that the derailment “has damaged the soul of our northern Appalachian communities.”
A separate letter from residents said that as the first anniversary approached, “our community remains deeply affected.”
“While we are strong and resilient people, we also deserve to be heard,” the letter said.
“We ask you to show that the highest office in the world will not abandon hardworking Americans in the face of adversity. As President of the people, by the people and for the people, we trust you will take action.”
The train was carrying more than 350,000 pounds of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen used to make pipes, furniture and packaging, when it skipped the tracks. Much of that cargo was burned by emergency workers, in a so-called controlled burn to prevent a wider explosion.