On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed after a railcar's wheel bearing overheated, causing a fire. Three days later, officials conducted a "controlled release" of several tank cars that were filled with vinyl chloride, a toxic and flammable gas that can cause certain cancers, to prevent an explosion.

A new lawsuit filed by over 700 residents of East Palestine, Ohio, makes the first wrongful-death allegations in connection with the 2023 derailment that spilled toxic chemicals in the village. In