(NewsNation) — Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million to residents and businesses impacted by the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, but environmental activist Erin Brockovich says the settlement is not enough to truly hold the company accountable.
In a Tuesday interview on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” Brockovich expressed skepticism about the payout, which works out to approximately $6,000 per person affected by the disaster.
“The money … never makes the people whole,” Brockovich said, quoting a line from the film based on her own legal battle. “We’re missing the mark here. And thinking that in a litigation, just giving people money makes it right, because they continue and will continue to suffer.”
Brockovich, who has been a vocal advocate for the East Palestine community, argued that Norfolk Southern needs to do more than simply write a check. The company, she said, must address the underlying issues that led to the derailment.
“Do the right thing in the first place. And that’s going to take us back to ‘you’re not having good oversight of your infrastructure, your rails, what are our regulations, what’s getting deregulated?'” Brockovich said.
The environmental activist also revealed that she herself became ill after visiting East Palestine unprotected shortly after the disaster, underscoring the ongoing health concerns plaguing the community.
“I was being exposed. I’m dealing with another eye injury. My lacrimal glands were burned off. These people who are continuing to be there. They’re being left like … ducks sitting in a tree waiting for the disaster to hit them again,” Brockovich said.
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In this photo provided by Melissa Smith, a train fire is seen from her farm in East Palestine, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order in the Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line on Friday night, covering the area in billows of smoke lit orange by the flames below. (Melissa Smith via AP) -
This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
In this photo provided by Melissa Smith, a train fire is seen from her farm in East Palestine, Ohio, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order in the Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line on Friday night, covering the area in billows of smoke lit orange by the flames below. (Melissa Smith via AP) -
This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
An employee of HEPACO works in a creek along Sumner Street in downtown East Palestine, Ohio, on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) -
A man takes photos as a black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk and Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine meets with reporters after touring the Norfolk Southern train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday, Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
This photo taken with a drone shows the continuing cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. West Virginia’s water utility says it’s taking precautionary steps following the derailment of a train hauling chemicals that later sent up a toxic plume in Ohio. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file) -
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
A man raises his hand with a question for East Palestine, Ohio Mayor Trent Conaway, center, during a town hall meeting at East Palestine High School in East Palestine, Ohio, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. The meeting was held to answer questions about the ongoing cleanup from the derailment on Feb, 3, of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous material. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
Booms are placed in a stream that flows through the center of East Palestine, Ohio, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, as cleanup continues following the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train over a week ago. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
A cleanup worker stands on a derailed tank car as the cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed over a week ago in East Palestine, Ohio, continues, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) -
Ohio EPA officials, including director Anne Vogel, left, took a tour of the damage in East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. Residents of the Ohio village upended by a freight train derailment are demanding to know if they’re safe from the toxic chemicals that spilled or were burned off to avoid an even bigger disaster. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) -
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File – A view of the scene Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, as the cleanup continues at the site of of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. -
Multiple cars of a Norfolk Southern train lie toppled on one another after derailing at a train crossing with Ohio 41 in Clark County, Ohio, Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Bill Lackey/Springfield-News Sun via AP) -
Multiple cars of a Norfolk Southern train lie toppled after derailing at a train crossing with Ohio 41 in Clark County, Ohio, Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Bill Lackey/Springfield-News Sun via AP)
Brockovich stressed that the residents of East Palestine deserve more than a small monetary settlement, urging the agencies tasked with protecting them to step up and ensure the community’s long-term well-being.
“They deserve more and they deserve better. They really do. And I feel bad. And frankly, I’m ashamed of our agencies that haven’t been there for them, that have failed them and we just think it’s OK to throw them some money and hope their life and their health will get better,” she said.
The proposed settlement, if approved, would cover all class-action claims within a 20-mile radius of the fiery derailment. An attorney estimates the agreement could result in around 100,000 individual payments.
On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in the small Ohio community.
Some 1,500 residents were told to evacuate following the crash. Fearing an explosion, officials decided to vent and burn five tank cars, releasing 116,000 gallons of the carcinogen vinyl chloride into the air. Later, a toxic plume of smoke smothered the region.
However, three days later, the Environmental Protection Agency said it had not detected contaminants at “levels of concern” and gave the all-clear for residents to return.
Residents of East Palestine complained of rashes and sickness. They’ve also criticized the government for downplaying their concerns that their community is no longer safe to live in.
NewsNation’s Rich McHugh contributed to this report.
