On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, and tank cars carrying hazardous materials were involved in a fire. Three days later a contractor for the railroad vented and burned vinyl chloride from five tank cars, a step the NTSB later found was not needed. The EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to carry out the cleanup, and the railroad settled with the federal government for over $310 million and with residents and businesses for $600 million.
The EPA says the response is in a monitoring, maintenance and reporting phase. Norfolk Southern says it made the final $285 million class settlement payment in March 2026, that a Sixth Circuit appeal over the release of personal injury claims is pending, and that the court had not yet ruled on entering the federal consent decree as of October 2026.
The NTSB said eastbound Norfolk Southern train 32N derailed 38 mixed freight railcars at about 8:54 p.m. Three tank cars carrying flammable and combustible hazardous materials were mechanically breached, and the released materials fueled a fire.
According to the NTSB, responders set a 1 mile evacuation zone affecting about 2,000 residents. The incident commander later expanded it before the venting.
The NTSB said releases from the vinyl chloride tank cars ceased in the afternoon of February 4.
A contractor hired by Norfolk Southern breached the five vinyl chloride tank cars at 4:37 p.m., releasing and igniting their contents, the NTSB said. The local incident commander had decided on the vent and burn based on information from the railroad and its contractors.
The NTSB issued an investigative update on the derailment.
The EPA issued a unilateral administrative order under the Superfund law requiring Norfolk Southern to carry out sampling, removal and disposal of contaminated material and to pay for the work.
The NTSB examined aluminum protective covers on a railcar component as part of its investigation.
The NTSB examined and tested pressure relief devices from the tank cars.
The Justice Department filed a civil complaint against Norfolk Southern in the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio over unlawful discharges of pollutants and hazardous substances, the department later said.
The NTSB held a community meeting in East Palestine on the eve of its investigative hearing.
The NTSB held a two day investigative hearing on the derailment. Its pages give the dates as both June 22 and 23 and June 23 and 24, 2023.
Norfolk Southern entered into a $600 million settlement to resolve the consolidated class action in the Northern District of Ohio, covering claims within 20 miles of the derailment, the company said.
The Justice Department and EPA announced a settlement valued at over $310 million, including an estimated $235 million for cleanup costs, a $15 million civil penalty and funds for health and water monitoring. It was subject to public comment and court approval.
The NTSB determined an overheated wheel bearing on the 23rd railcar failed. It found the vent and burn was not necessary to prevent a tank car failure and said the decision rested on incomplete and misleading information from Norfolk Southern officials and contractors.
The NTSB released an illustrated digest summarizing its investigation report.
The federal district court in Youngstown approved the $600 million settlement between Norfolk Southern and a class of residents and businesses. Objecting class members appealed to the Sixth Circuit the same day.
The Justice Department moved for entry of the proposed consent decree and responded to public comments. The EPA and Norfolk Southern said the motion remained pending.
A federal judge required the objecting class members to post an $850,000 appeal bond to cover administrative costs of delaying payments to other class members, according to press reports.
A Sixth Circuit panel granted a motion to dismiss the objectors' appeals and dismissed their appeal of a motion to extend time. Press reports said the objectors missed a deadline by one day.
The US Supreme Court denied the objectors' petition for a writ of certiorari, leaving the class settlement in place, Norfolk Southern said.
Norfolk Southern said it made the final $285 million settlement payment in March 2026 after paying $315 million in 2024. Administrator Epiq said direct payment claims would be paid by the end of June 2026.
The district court denied a challenge by certain class members to the release of their personal injury claims. They appealed to the Sixth Circuit, where the appeal was pending in October 2026, according to Norfolk Southern.
In an update dated August 31, 2026, the EPA said the response was in a monitoring, maintenance and reporting phase, with quarterly sampling of groundwater, surface water and drinking water.
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Last updated 31 October 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Every event links to the record it comes from. Allegations are attributed to whoever made them.