A former Norfolk Southern contractor involved in the East Palestine train derailment cleanup claims that officials minimized contamination risks and falsified reports. According to Scott Miller, who worked for a subcontractor to CTEH (an environmental consulting firm hired by Norfolk Southern), his supervisors instructed him to ignore workers' health complaints and to record air quality readings as safe even when they were not. Miller, a former state environmental regulator in West Virginia, stated that he witnessed these instructions being given and that the information was then passed up the chain to the EPA and state regulators.
Miller's allegations suggest a deliberate attempt to downplay the severity of the chemical contamination. He detailed instances where workers experienced headaches and rashes, but were told to continue working without proper protective equipment or medical evaluation. This aligns with findings from an Associated Press report which revealed that workers cleaning up the contaminated creeks in East Palestine experienced sickness, including headaches and nausea, but their symptoms were not released to the public.
The revelations raise concerns about the integrity of the cleanup process and the transparency of information provided to the public and regulatory bodies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had also noted similar symptoms among residents shortly after the February 3, 2023, derailment. Critics, including Lesley Pacey of the Government Accountability Project, have previously expressed concerns about potential conflicts of interest when companies like CTEH are hired by the polluters themselves, likening it to "the fox guarding the henhouse." Residents of East Palestine have until August 22 to decide on accepting up to $25,000 as part of a $600 million class-action settlement related to the incident.
