By Nandita Bose and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Friday he has no plans to go to the location of the prepare derailment that spilled poisonous chemical substances in an Ohio city earlier in February.

The path derailment in East Palestine prompted the evacuation of 1000’s of individuals and ignited well being issues.

“I’ve spoken with each single main determine in each Pennsylvania and Ohio. So the concept we’re not engaged is just not there,” Biden informed reporters on Friday.

Norfolk Southern Corp (NYSE:), the operator of the prepare, apologized on Wednesday at a CNN city corridor occasion that highlighted residents’ issues about soil and floor water contamination.

The Biden administration has stated Norfolk Southern should pay for the injury and clean-up efforts. The U.S. Environmental Safety Company ordered firm officers to attend city corridor occasions after executives did not attend an earlier assembly in East Palestine.

The derailment has sparked a political battle and a blame recreation over railroad security laws, with residents voicing deep concern over the long-term well being impression of the hundreds of thousands of kilos of carcinogenic chemical substances spilled of their city.

Some Republicans have criticized the Biden administration over the incident whereas some Democrats have pointed to laws rescinded beneath former President Donald Trump. Trump, who’s campaigning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, visited the world on Wednesday.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured the wreckage on Thursday after the Biden administration was criticized for not sending a cupboard official to the location sooner.

The derailment might need been averted if the railway firm’s alarm system had given engineers an earlier warning that bearings had been overheating, the chair of the Nationwide Transportation Security Board stated on Thursday with the discharge of a preliminary investigation.

Earlier on Friday, the Home of Representatives Oversight Committee launched a probe into the derailment and sought paperwork from the U.S. Transportation Division on their response to the incident.