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Law firm files enforcement action against Orange County Eagle Railcar for chemical leak

The Law Office of Brent Coon and Associates reportedly requested access to the facility for 7 days and finally had to file an enforcement action against them.

ORANGE, Texas — After a railcar leak of highly toxic chemicals more than a week ago, the Orange County Eagle Railcar facility has reportedly yet to cooperate with the law firm who filed a restraining order to preserve evidence and allow for an onsite inspection.

Back on July 18, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the company was flaring a railcar after a chemical reaction caused the tank to fill with pressure and heat up.

RELATED: 'Somebody could have gotten killed' | Law firm hosts town halls in Orange to hear from concerned citizens after chemical leak

While doing this, Orange County Eagle Railcar facility reportedly never warned the public about the potentially hazardous chemicals involved. 

"This leak of toxic materials that resulted in a shelter in place order to several entire communities and sent dozens of people to local hospitals was not even reported to authorities as required by law. Once they were caught, they misrepresented the extent and scope of the problem based on what employees of the company have disclosed to us as concerned whistleblowers," said  Jay Jackson, Communications Director, Brent Coon & Associates in a press release.

The Law Office of Brent Coon and Associates reportedly requested access to the facility for 7 days and finally had to file an enforcement action against them on Friday.

RELATED: Lawsuit claims West Orange residents weren't alerted of Thursday chemical leak for 12 hours

 Jay Jackson hopes that this will result in further court orders later this week.

“The community has a right to know what happened and we are determined to get to the bottom of it,” said Brent Coon

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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information. 

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