2026-04-17 22:47:29 UTC / 路透社
作者：蕾妮·希克曼
2026年4月17日 美国东部时间22:47 更新于31分钟前
节点运行失败
2023年2月15日，美国俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦镇列车脱轨并泄漏有毒化学品后的现场，可见一个被烧毁的集装箱。路透社/艾伦·弗里德 购买授权，打开新标签页
- 摘要
- 相关企业
- 诉讼指控美国农业部隐瞒俄亥俄州列车脱轨事故后农业污染相关记录
- 政府问责项目指控美国环境保护署未对二噁英进行适当检测
- 政府问责项目的莱斯利·帕西表示，美国农业部公布的文件显示其已意识到食品供应存在脆弱性
4月17日（路透社）——一家举报人组织于周五向美国联邦法院提起诉讼，指控美国农业部不当扣留了与2023年俄亥俄州列车脱轨事故相关的有毒化学品污染食品供应的记录。
提起本次诉讼的非营利组织政府问责项目当天在华盛顿特区提交文件，同时发布报告称，该组织通过《信息自由法》申请获取的记录显示，美国农业部官员早已意识到有毒化学品可能污染俄亥俄州-宾夕法尼亚州边境村庄东巴勒斯坦镇事故周边地区的食品供应。
开启您的晨间资讯：每日案卷简报将最新法律新闻直接发送至您的收件箱
广告 · 滚动继续阅读
该组织同时指控，尽管如此，美国环境保护署并未针对花园果蔬、肉类、蛋类或野味中的二噁英——一种有毒化学物质——开展针对性检测。美国农业部发言人以诉讼尚未审结为由拒绝置评。
2023年2月3日，诺福克南方铁路公司一列从伊利诺伊州开往宾夕法尼亚州的列车发生脱轨，引发大规模火灾，迫使附近数百户居民疏散。铁路工作人员随后对五节脱轨车厢内装载的有毒化学品进行排放和焚烧处理。
美国环境保护署当时表示，其对事故现场附近住宅内的饮用水和空气进行的检测未发现任何污染。
广告 · 滚动继续阅读
但专家们担忧该地区农田可能被二噁英污染——二噁英是铁路工作人员受控焚烧过程中产生的致癌副产物。政府问责项目高级环境顾问莱斯利·帕西周五在采访中表示，该组织获取的美国农业部相关文件遭到大量编辑，部分文件被完全扣留。本次诉讼旨在要求公开这些文件。但帕西表示，美国农业部公开的部分文件“显示其内部已承认存在非常真实且令人担忧的污染途径”。
不过帕西指出，美国农业部并未开展全面检测，也未向居民通报相关风险。
蕾妮·希克曼报道；阿利斯泰尔·贝尔编辑
我们的报道准则：路透社信托原则
Watchdog group sues USDA over food safety records related to Ohio train disaster
2026-04-17 22:47:29 UTC / Reuters
By Renee Hickman
April 17, 2026 10:47 PM UTC Updated 31 mins ago
节点运行失败
A burnt container is seen at the site where toxic chemicals were spilled following a train derailment, in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alan Freed Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- Summary
- Companies
- Lawsuit claims USDA withheld records on agricultural contamination after Ohio train derailment
- Government Accountability Project alleges EPA failed to test properly for dioxins
- USDA-released documents suggest awareness of food supply vulnerability, GAP’s Lesley Pacey says
April 17 (Reuters) – A whistleblower organization filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday, alleging that the government agency improperly withheld records about food supply contamination by toxic chemicals tied to a train derailment in Ohio in 2023.
The nonprofit Government Accountability Project, which filed the lawsuit in the District of Columbia, also published a report saying records it obtained through a FOIA request indicated USDA officials knew toxic chemicals could contaminate the food supply near the disaster in East Palestine, a village on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Despite that, the Environmental Protection Agency failed to conduct targeted testing for dioxins, a toxic chemical, in garden produce, meat, eggs, or wild game, the group alleged. A USDA spokesperson declined to comment citing pending litigation.
On February 3, 2023, a train operated by Norfolk Southern Railway heading from Illinois to Pennsylvania derailed, setting off a huge fire that forced the evacuation of hundreds of nearby homes. Railroad crews then drained and burned off a toxic chemical cargo from five rail cars in the wreck.
The EPA said then that its tests of drinking water and air inside homes near the wreck did not show any contamination.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
But experts voiced concerns about possible contamination of the region’s agricultural land by dioxins, a carcinogenic byproduct of the controlled burn by railroad crews. Lesley Pacey, the Government Accountability Project’s senior environmental advisor, said in an interview on Friday that the USDA records the group obtained were heavily redacted and some documents were withheld. The lawsuit seeks to release those documents. But Pacey said what was produced by the agency “shows that internally they were recognizing that there were contamination pathways that were very realistic and concerning.”
Nonetheless, Pacey said the agency did not follow through with comprehensive testing or communicate the risks to residents.
Reporting by Renee Hickman; Editing by Alistair Bell
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
发表回复