· Officials insisted at a community meeting that Norfolk Southern had to explode train cars carrying vinyl chloride
· But a hazardous materials expert says it was just their cheapest option
· In blowing up the chemicals, a lawsuit claims, it released a dangerous chemical agent banned under the Geneva Conventions
Norfolk Southern did not have to blow up five of its train cars to release toxic chemicals into the environment following a derailment in East Palestine, Ohio earlier this month — and may have made the situation even worse for residents in doing so, experts say.