The U.S. government ordered the Norfolk Southern railroad company on Tuesday to pay the entire cost of the cleanup of a toxic train derailment in the midwestern state of Ohio and to attend all public meetings with local residents.

"Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they've inflicted on this community," Michael Regan, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said in a statement. 

The February 3 cargo train derailment in the town of East Palestine sparked a massive fire and triggered the release of toxic fumes, including from vinyl chloride, a colorless gas deemed carcinogenic by the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Several thousand residents were evacuated as authorities assessed the danger. 

U.S. President Joe Biden later called the EPA order common sense. "This is their mess. They should clean it up," he said on Twitter.

"We'll continue to hold rail companies accountable when they fail to put safety first. But first, we've got Norfolk Southern's mess to clean. I want affected residents to know that we've got your back. And as I said to your govs, they'll have every resource that they need," he said in another tweet. 

Norfolk Southern said in an emailed statement that it recognizes its responsibility to "thoroughly and safely" clean up the derailment site and pay for it. "We are going to learn from this terrible accident and work with regulators and elected officials to improve railroad safety."

Although no fatalities or injuries have been reported, residents have been demanding answers about health risks and blaming Norfolk Southern, state and federal officials for a lack of information regarding the crash.

Residents were angry last week when the railway operator did not attend a town hall meeting. Norfolk Southern said it had consulted with town leaders and was worried about the safety of its employees if they did attend.

(With input from agencies)