PAULSBORO, N.J. — Irma Stevenson is a lifelong Paulsboro, N.J. resident. Her son, Gary Stevenson, is the mayor, and the 83-year-old woman also goes by another name.
"I'm Mrs. Paulsboro," she said.
She said she loves her hometown and it symbolizes a lot of pride, heart and family. In fact, she said she's never considered leaving, not even after a Conrail train derailed and released tens of thousands of gallons of vinyl chloride in November 2012 in what is essentially her backyard.
"Yeah, I mean we were ground zero," she said. "I remember just police, you name it, they were here."
This small, industrial town near Philadelphia is dotted with refineries and railroads. Stevenson remembers the town being devastated by the derailment. There was a lot of concern about the widespread chemical fog that followed the wreck.
“But it was scary," she said. "You know is this going to dissipate or is this going to stay there? Or is it coming into my house? Or is it coming into my lungs? My heart? The unknown is scary.”
Stevenson is a nurse, and she said she and her husband, Walter, are some of the lucky ones. They haven't had any negative health effects as a result of the toxic chemical spill. They were evacuated from their home, and their property sustained some damage. While the railroad company paid for their hotel and the repairs, Stevenson felt Conrail's response was cavalier.
“I really felt they didn’t care about us," she said. "'Eh, give ‘em some money, offer them some money and that will take us off the hook.'”
She recalled the railroad offering payouts ranging from $500 to $2,500 to neighbors, depending on their proximity to the wreckage site. Those who signed the form with Conrail also agreed not to sue.
But Stevenson decided differently and joined other residents in a lawsuit.
“We did get each a life insurance policy for $100,000. If we are diagnosed with brain cancer or liver cancer, we will get the $100,000 before we die. Isn’t that nice?" she said. "But we have to be diagnosed with that.”
The town of Paulsboro sees trains pass through all day long, and prior to the wreck in 2012, people we talked to said it was background noise. They said they never really thought about what dangerous chemicals may be being ferried through their neighborhood, past their homes in train cars.
But now, whenever they hear a slightly different rhythm to the track, they notice. They feel on edge and nervous a derailment could happen again.
“Standing out on the porch, and I hear that, yeah, like I sit there and go, 'oh, is that different?'" said resident Sean McFarland.
His daughter, Andrea, said their house shakes when the train comes through, depending on how heavy the load is.
"I'll be laying in my bed and thinking like, 'is this, does this feel different? Like is this, is this going to happen again?'” she said.
They have lived in their Paulsboro home for more than 20 years, not too far from where the wreck happened.
"They ruined an entire town," Andrea said. "And they've ruined a lot of peoples' lives with what they did."
Resentment against the railroad company still lingers, more than 10 years later.
"We're little ants," Andrea said. "Oh, $25,000, $1 million. That's just hush money."
Sean said all the company cared about was making it all go away.
Andrea said she remembers waking up to police pounding on the door, telling everyone to leave on the day of the derailment. Sean was working at the time, but said he was later told it was safe for him and his teenage son to sleep in their home that night. He remembered spending time in the chemical fog and waking up the next day with what he called "goop" in his eyes.
He soon noticed extreme sensitivity to light.
“I went to the eye doctor and he’s like, 'dude, your eyes look like somebody is sandpapering them,'" he said. "And I’m like, 'OK, well how? Like why? What happened, you know. And he’s like, 'your eyes are opening when you’re sleeping and you’re rubbing them raw.' And I’m like, 'OK well why?' It never happened by entire life. Now, I’m in my 40s, and now my eyes are just going to open? And he’s like, 'well it’s a neurological thing,' and that was the only thing that we found out with the vinyl chloride. That was the only thing anybody ever said was there could be neurological issues.”
Those issues continue to this day. He has to wear a special mask at night to protect his eyes. He uses eye drops daily and keeps sunglasses at hand.
Andrea said she hasn't had any health issues, for which she is thankful, especially since she did take the payout from the railroad company.
“The town said to sign your life away for $500-$2,500 go over there, which at the time I was young." she said. "I needed the money.”
Sean decided to fight back, and he joined a lawsuit with some others in town. Andrea said she got a payout of $2,500, but her dad had to deal with legal back-and-forth for months.
"Yeah, I think I ended up getting the same amount of money, but just a lot longer," Sean said.
Another resident, Brenda Montero, also accepted money in exchange for agreeing not to sue Conrail. She said her family took the risk that they wouldn't have health issues down the line.
“You know, rather than be part of a class action lawsuit where maybe they settle for this amount, we might have gotten less than the $2,500 because you have to share it with all those people," she said.
She said she thankfully hasn't had any concerns about her health since.
Montero remembered worrying about her pet bird, Pretty Boy, who was trapped inside her home for days after the evacuation. To her, the fact he's still alive today — past his life expectancy — is a good sign.
“I don’t think there’s really much to worry about anymore," she said.
Now, more than 10 years later, the crowds of politicians, news crews, government officials and lawyers that once descended on the town are gone. But for those who live here, they said they'll never forget.
Conrail was unable to be reached for comment by the time of publication. In a statement to Spectrum News 1, Norfolk Southern did not comment on the situation in Paulsboro, but did provide the following statement on East Palestine.
“We have been firm in our commitment to making it right in East Palestine and the surrounding communities in eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. Our employees and contractors remain embedded in the community to serve its residents, and we will remain in East Palestine for as long as it takes.”
Editor's Note: The story has been updated to include a statement from Norfolk Southern. (May 1, 2023)