Norfolk Southern is now facing the largest individual lawsuit filed against the company yet after the owner of an East Palestine business filed a $500 million lawsuit seeking compensation for the results of February's train derailment.

Lawyers for Ceramfab Inc. owner Edwin Wang filed the seven-count lawsuit against the rail company to compensate him for damages to the business as a result of the derailment.

According to a news release, Wang says he lost nearly everything when the derailment spilled toxic chemicals into the air, water and soil all throughout the village making it unsafe for his workers to return to work and forced him to cease or relocate all of his operations.

The lawsuit further alleges that the several thousand degree heat from the controlled burn conducted by Norfolk Southern forced toxic constituents into and through the walls of the facility.

Ceramfab was located right next to the derailment site and manufactured critical protective parts for steel mills.

Originally, these parts were imported from overseas, but Wang eventually developed a process to make special order ceramic fiber insulation products locally providing job opportunities in the village.

The lawsuit alleges that the toxic chemicals released into the air have caused direct and substantial damages and will continue to do so.

Wang says the topic of the derailment and its toxic aftermath comes up in "every sales call with every customer" with customers bringing up concerns about contaminated products.

"Some customers do not want existing products from East Palestine because of a perceived contamination risk. Others do not want the headaches of placing future orders because of the fear that further remediation will be required that will prolong the companies' operational hiatus, force future closures or result in new factory remediation," Wang said.

Attorneys for Ceramfab further criticized Norfolk Southern for their business practice accusing the rail company of putting profits over public safety concerns.

"When you investigate the background of Norfolk Southern, the pressure executives applied to make faster, longer trains, run with smaller crews and to repeatedly put juiced corporate profits over even basic public safety concerns, a disaster of this magnitude was only a matter of time," said Attorney Jon Conlin.

The lawsuit delves deeper into these claims by stating that according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Norfolk Southern had the most derailments of all rail companies between 2019 and 2022.

The lawsuit also cites employment data from the Surface Transportation Board (STB), stating that Norfolk Southern reduced its workforce by 39% from 2011 through 2021, with most of that reduction occurring between 2019 and 2021.

Furthermore, the lawsuit states that the largest percentage of decrease was among the Maintenance of Equipment and Stores employees, which includes workers who are responsible for the maintenance of equipment including railcars and locomotives.

The lawsuit states that the second largest percentage of decrease was among transportation other than train and engine employees, which include train and crew dispatchers and railyard supervisors.

Additionally, the suit accused Norfolk Southern of hiring high-paid lobbyists to "thwart and/or prevent the implementation of safety measures" at both the federal and state level.

The lawsuit went on to site an article from news outlet, VICE entitled "'32 Nasty:' Rail workers say they knew the train that derailed in East Palestine was dangerous."

The article in question mentioned that workers noticed "multiple red flags" including two mechanical problems that went undetected or were ignored prior to the derailment.

The lawsuit goes on to state that at one point around milepost 49.81, the wheel bearing on a rail car reached a temperature of 253 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient temperature.

According to Norfolk Southern's policies, any reading above 170 degrees Fahrenheit requires the train to stop and any temperature over 200 degrees should be deemed "critical."

Additionally, the lawsuit references a video caught around this time that shows one of the rail cars sparking in the wheel bearing and axle area.

The lawsuit also references "widespread concerns" from Norfolk Southern employees regarding the train's excessive length (approximately 151 cars, 9,300 feet long) and weight (18,000 tons).

"With this information, Norfolk Southern was aware of the increased risks of a dangerous event occurring with Train 32N prior to its derailment but intentionally acted and instructed others to act in a manner that violated its own internal safety or operating procedures," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit went on to grill Norfolk Southern for their response following the derailment stating that the company did not report the derailment until two hours later and did not properly inform local first responders of the hazardous material.

"This lack of information impeded first responders' response, preventing them from extinguishing the fire and allowing it to spread rapidly," the lawsuit reads.

Wang is a naturalized citizen from China who immigrated to the U.S. in 1992 with his wife and daughter. He founded CeramSource in New Jersey in 1999.

Nearly two decades later, he expanded his operations to include Ceramfab and WYG and moved to two refurbished warehouses in East Palestine.

Norfolk Southern said they do not comment on litigation but they have previously said that representatives were assisting business owners by helping them apply for reimbursements for any losses they've incurred son February. Wang's lawyer said he reached out to Norfolk Southern to settle the financial dispute but they "did not meaningfully engage."