- Shaw was seen outside his mansion in Atlanta, Georgia, smiling for DailyMail.com cameras
- Alan Shaw made a rare appearance in East Palestine, Ohio on Sunday after facing calls from residents and elected officials to answer their questions
- He defended his company’s decision to blow up five train cars carrying vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen, in the aftermath of a train derailment
The embattled CEO of Norfolk Southern was seen going for a walk outside and smiling Sunday afternoon – after he defended the decision to detonate the toxic detailed train in East Palestine.
Alan Shaw, who makes $4.5million a year, was spotted outside his multi-million dollar mansion in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday.
When pressed for what the company was doing about the disaster, he spoke very briefly.
‘We remain committed to the citizens of East Palestine,’ Shaw told DailyMail.com Sunday.
Shaw owns more than 20 properties across Georgia and Virginia, but spends most of his time in a $4.2million Atlanta mansion or on one of his two boats.
The CEO has defended his decision to detonate toxic train cars in East Palestine, Ohio after the derailment disaster of two weeks ago.
He has been facing calls from residents and elected officials to come to the town and answer locals’ questions about the long-term effects of chemicals that leaked into the soil and waterways following a train derailment earlier this month.
Representatives from the railroad company bailed on a community meeting last week, as experts claimed Norfolk Southern did not actually need to conduct a ‘controlled burn’ of two train cars carrying vinyl chloride to mitigate its effects.
In doing so, a lawsuit alleges, the company likely made the situation worse — releasing a chemical warfare agent banned after World War I.
But Shaw — who makes $4.5 million a year and owns more than 20 properties and two boats — is now defending his decision as he made a rare appearance in town on Sunday.
Speaking to WKBN, Shaw doubled down on his promise that Norfolk Southern will cleanup the chemicals that were released after one of its trains derailed on February 3.
‘This has been devastating to the community,’ he said.
By Stephen M. Lepore and Melissa Keoning