Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Director. Published March 24, 2023 9:16 A.M.
(Chippewa Township, PA) Blackhawk High School has filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern. Attorney Tom King announced the lawsuit. King spoke to Beaver County Radio Friday morning during “Live Mic”. King says this large plume of toxic material traveled through the area resulting in the district being hit by the materials and chemicals and people need to be concerned about what these chemicals can do. The intentional explosion wasn’t made aware to the superintendent until the day of the explosion. School was terminated and students were sent home when they were informed. The school was never advised what to do to protect students, buildings, or property. The district is faced with having been exposed on two occasions to the chemicals. King says, “Norfolk Southern should do right thing to completely investigate what toxins are in the school and what the kids have been exposed to”, in addition to paying for continuing monitoring. He says “There was negligence on their part for the first one, the second was intentional. These aren’t expenses that should be incurred by the tax payers of the district.” He also doesn’t think the EPA intends to come and test the Blackhawk school district property. The district wants the best medical care possible.
Blackhawk is first school to file a suit in regards to the derailment. It is also the first case in the western district of Pennsylvania in the federal court system. Norfolk Southern has stepped up recently with helping the East Palestine School District. King said “We wouldn’t have given the advice to the board if there wasn’t substantial evidence. The basic facts are known.”
He says the purpose of the lawsuit is to identify the things we need to do to protect students, staff, community, and provide the funding necessary to take precaution, and the best outcome would be that nothing is wrong and no child is at risk to harm. He ended by saying “We need the experts to come in and Norfolk Southern needs to pay for it.