EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — During his long-awaited visit to East Palestine, where a massive train derailment a year ago caused devastation, President Joe Biden sharply criticized Norfolk Southern, the railroad company responsible for the disaster.

“Let me be clear: while there are acts of God, this was an act of greed that was 100% preventable,” Biden, a Democrat, said Friday during a news conference inside the State Line Warehouse, a short distance from the disaster site. “Norfolk Southern failed in its responsibilities.”

Biden administration officials have been to East Palestine a number of times since the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment.

Biden has faced criticism and questions for not visiting East Palestine himself, despite saying for months that he would come to the village. Some have said Biden ignored East Palestine because it is in Columbiana County, a Republican stronghold.

Among Biden’s critics is East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, who joined the president during his Friday visit.

Conaway thanked Biden for his “long-awaited visit to our village” and for “allowing us to focus on the things we agree with: acknowledging the disaster should have never happened, addressing our long-term health concerns and economic growth of our village, and ensuring this never happens again.”

Biden said it’s been a “Herculean effort and that’s not hyperbole” to work toward cleaning up the village after the derailment.

He also promised: “We’re not going home, no matter what, until this job is done and it’s not done yet. There is a lot more to do. The vast majority’s been done, but we’re going to stay until the very end, until every need is met.

“All told, we’ve done in one year what would typically take many years” to accomplish.

Biden announced Friday there would be six National Institute of Health grants to study the short-term and long-term effects of the derailment. The grants were awarded to six universities including Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Biden’s motorcade passed several people on the way from the Pittsburgh International Airport to East Palestine, with a stop in nearby Darlington, Pa., which was also impacted by the derailment fallout.

Numerous people held up signs of protest against Biden, shouted at the motorcade and held up middle fingers while considerably fewer showed support for him.

Biden’s administration announced Jan. 31 that the president would visit the village sometime in February at the renewed invitation of Conaway. A short time later, Friday’s date was set.

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, said Friday: “Over the past year, Joe Biden has been everywhere but East Palestine — including on vacation for about 130 days since the derailment. When Americans are in crisis, real leaders show up. Joe Biden’s visit is too little, too late.”

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for this year’s election who visited East Palestine on Feb. 22, 2023, criticized Biden for waiting this long. Trump called Biden’s visit “an insult to those who live and work in East Palestine and the great state of Ohio itself. I can’t believe anyone wants him there.”

About 50 railroad cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed Feb. 3, 2023, in East Palestine in a fiery crash. Five of the cars, carrying the toxic chemical vinyl chloride, were purposely blown up several days later, with Norfolk Southern saying there were concerns that an accidental explosion would have caused even worse damage.

The derailment caused the evacuation of thousands of residents of East Palestine and nearby communities.

Several residents have concerns about long-term health issues from the release of toxic chemicals into the air, soil and water.

The derailment has cost Norfolk Southern $1.1 billion, including $836 million for environmental-related expenses and $381 million for community assistance and legal fees.

Michael Regan — administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who accompanied Biden to East Palestine on Friday and has visited numerous times — said the president “has never forgotten” the village since last year’s derailment.

“It’s been a year of action,” he said. “I’ve seen first-hand the strength and I’ve seen first-hand the resiliency of East Palestine.”

The White House said within hours of the derailment, the EPA deployed a team of trained emergency response personnel to East Palestine to aid state and local emergency and environmental response efforts. The Department of Transportation was also on the scene within hours to support the National Transportation Safety Board in their independent investigation of the derailment, according to the White House.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also has worked with state and local health departments to conduct public health testing and offer technical assistance.

Biden also issued an executive order in September directing that Norfolk Southern continue to be held accountable for the derailment and address any long-term effects to the community and ensure federal assistance is available should needs develop not met by the railroad company. That includes having a federal disaster recovery coordinator in East Palestine working with others to address community concerns related to the derailment.

Gov. Mike DeWine has asked Biden for a federal emergency declaration for East Palestine but hasn’t received one.

A senior administration official said that it’s still “premature” to decide on an emergency declaration because a “needs assessment” hasn’t been finished.