Toxic train derailment due to greed and weakened rules, Sherrod Brown says

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, in discussing this month’s toxic train derailment in his state, said Sunday that Congress needs to stand firm when corporate lobbyists use their influence to weaken safety rules and regulations.

“Congress has got to do its job better,” the Ohio Democrat said on CNN’s “State of the Union” while also urging President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to “re-strengthen” pertinent regulations that have been weakened in recent years.

“Every time there’s a new administration,” Brown explained, “particularly a more conservative one that’s more pro-corporate, they put all these regulations on the table about safety, about worker safety, community safety, the environment, consumer protections, and, at the behest of lobbyists, far too often, they weaken those laws.”

A 150-car Norfolk Southern train derailed Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals, some of which have leaked into the water, soil and air in the area. “The railroads are simply not investing the way they should in car safety and in the rail lines themselves,” Brown said.

Local residents have expressed skepticism that their community, located near the Pennsylvania border, is a safe place to be right now, with some complaining of various ailments.

Brown told host Pamela Brown he understands their concerns, particularly when it comes to drinking water, though he noted that the mayor has told residents it is safe to drink. He also acknowledged that the Norfolk Southern has agreed to clean up the area and make things right.

But the senator made it clear his sympathies were with the residents, not the railroad.

“You think about just the whole idea of you had to flee your home because of something — because a railroad failed to do its job, as the executives and their lobbyists get richer and richer and richer,” Brown said. “And there’s something very wrong with that.”