Biden affirms that the railway company must clean up the train derailment in Ohio: "It is common sense"

MADRID, 22 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has affirmed this Tuesday that "it is common sense" for the railway company Norfolk Southern to clean the affected place after the derailment of a train with dangerous chemical substances in Ohio.

"Today the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered the Norfolk Southern company to pay for the cleanup and disposal of hazardous materials," Biden announced before remarking that "it is common sense. This is their mess. They should clean it up."

The president has indicated that the country's Department of Transport has "made it clear to the railway companies that their pattern of opposition to safety regulations has to change", after which he has insisted that his Administration will continue "to hold the railway companies accountable when they don't prioritize safety."

"Congress must join us in the application of railway security measures," he urged, criticizing that elected officials "limit" the ability to reinforce security measures.

"Many of the elected officials who now point fingers want to dismantle the EPA, the agency that makes sure this cleanup takes place," Biden criticized before adding that this incident results from "years of opposition to the measures of security".

The US health authorities and the residents of the city of East Palestine, in the state of Ohio, are going through a period of serious uncertainty while waiting to elucidate the long-term effects of the derailment, on February 3, of a freight train with dangerous chemical substances that forced the temporary evacuation of the town, whose citizens demand a full investigation of what happened before resuming their normal lives.