(Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden criticized railroad operator Norfolk Southern on Friday during a trip to East Palestine, Ohio a year after a toxic derailment of the company’s train plunged the small community into a health and environmental crisis.
In his first visit since the derailment, Biden toured the area of the accident, which forced residents to abandon their homes and many people have since suffered from rashes, breathing problems and other ailments.
“While there are acts of God, this was an act of greed that was 100% preventable,” he said, touring the site where the train derailed.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, a conservative who does not support Biden, had extended the invitation to the Democratic president, saying the visit will be good for his community.
Republicans and some local residents have criticized Biden for not visiting earlier. The White House said Biden has been laser-focused on the village since the derailment.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre called Biden “a president that goes out there, whether it’s a red state, blue state, rural America, urban America, to hear, to make sure he is a president for all, especially when they are dealing with this awful, awful event that happened specifically in this community.”
Biden’s motorcade passed by protesters in the village, some of whom made crude gestures. One person yelled: “One year too late!”
During a visit to a local candle shop, Biden sipped from a glass of tap water and a container of coffee. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan told reporters the agency has been monitoring wells and municipal water and “there were no elevated levels of pollution exposure due to this derailment.”
Former President Donald Trump, expected to be Biden’s 2024 presidential rival, traveled to the small town near Ohio’s border with Pennsylvania about two weeks after the incident and called the federal response a betrayal. He had no comment on Friday about Biden’s visit.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which has yet to submit a final report, has said 38 train cars derailed on Feb. 3, 2023 and a fire damaged another dozen train cars. Residents on both sides of the Ohio-Pennsylvania border were ordered to evacuate because of the derailment and release of toxic chemicals.
Biden urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to toughen rail-safety laws. The bill, advanced by Ohio Senators J.D. Vance, a Republican, and Democrat Sherrod Brown, has stalled.
Norfolk Southern has estimated it will cost the company more than $800 million to clean up the hazardous chemicals, help the community rebuild and respond to lawsuits.
(Reporting By Jeff Mason, Nandita Bose and Jarrett Renshaw; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by David Gregorio)
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