YOUNGSTOWN — Expert witnesses for the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against Norfolk Southern will collect samples of water and soil from the East Palestine derailment site today. And they will collect “wipe samples” from various surfaces that may have come in contact with spilled and burned chemicals.

That information comes from documents filed in U.S. District Court early Wednesday. Judge Benita Y. Pearson is presiding over the lawsuit and held a hearing Monday regarding a temporary restraining order request by the plaintiffs, Andrew Erdos and David Anderson of New Galilee, Pa., which is about 10 miles east of East Palestine.

Erdos and Anderson are suing Norfolk Southern for damages resulting from the derailment and have asked the judge to preserve evidence at the derailment site.

Monday’s hearing was followed by multiple joint filings from attorneys for Norfolk Southern and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The parties agreed to allow expert witnesses for the plaintiffs examine rail cars through today.

Wednesday’s filing stated permission is given only to Norfolk Southern property, adding that “Norfolk Southern does not have the authority to either permit or prevent access to and sampling from land it does not own.”

The plaintiffs’ representatives will have to seek permission from any other property owners to collect samples on their property, the filing states. Norfolk Southern will, if possible, help the plaintiffs’ representatives identify the owner of property of interest. Norfolk Southern will be permitted to also take its own samples.

Norfolk Southern also is intending to “pull up Main Track 1 and its substructure today, and the plaintiffs’ experts will permitted to collect samples from under Main Track 1 and Main Track 2 after the track has been pulled up.

Erdos owns property on Madden Road in Galilee, Pa., about 10 miles east of East Palestine. Anderson lives on Echo Valley Road in New Galiliee, about 8.5 miles from East Palestine. Also a plaintiff in the lawsuit is Valley View Mobile Home Park, which also on Echo Valley Road.

The mobile home park has “suffered a loss of business income and goodwill” because of the derailment and the disbursement of dangerous chemicals, the original lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit seeks to be certified a class action on behalf of all individuals who resided, owned property, worked or operated businesses within a 30-mile radius of the derailment. Youngstown is 18 miles from East Palestine.

erunyan@vindy.com

The parties were scheduled for another hearing at noon Tuesday, but the court docket does not contain any details on it.

erunyan@vindy.com