We closely followed the developments in East Palestine, Ohio, after a train carrying hazardous materials derailed in early 2023.
As a reminder, the responders attempted to control the burn of the material, which released a toxic plume and resulted in serious chemical contamination of the area. Air and water quality were adversely impacted throughout the region. One hazardous material expert stated, “We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open.”
It took 8 months for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to announce the completion of significant cleanup activities. Chemicals from the derailment and the burn landed in 16 states.
After more than a year of investigations, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that the burning of toxic chemicals was unnecessary.
Officials intentionally released and burned off toxic vinyl chloride from five derailed cars, sending smoke and chemicals into the air despite the potential health effects. NTSB officials said Tuesday that the train operator and its contractors failed to tell incident commanders that the maker and shipper of the vinyl chloride had said venting and burning the chemicals wasn’t needed.At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy slammed Norfolk Southern’s behavior during the investigation and accused the company of delaying or failing to disclose information to investigators. Twice, Homendy threatened to subpoena the company to get the information they were looking for, she said. Norfolk Southern also attempted to submit its investigation four times.”Parties are not permitted to manufacture their own evidence,” Homendy said, calling Norfolk Southern’s attempts to influence the investigation “unprecedented and reprehensible.”She noted a recent meeting with a Norfolk Southern senior executive with her and staff that ended with a “threat.” Homendy did not name the executive.
The NTSB issued a 13-page synopsis is available here, and the full report is expected within a few weeks. The findings are very troubling.
Among the key findings of the NTSB investigation:
- The February 3, 2023 derailment was preventable and happened because Norfolk Southern deliberately did not act on warnings it received from wayside detectors, which showed that the train was failing miles before the derailment.
- The report confirmed what many residents and hazardous materials experts have long been saying—that the decision made to “vent and burn” five tanker cars filled with over a million pounds of highly toxic vinyl chloride was unnecessary.
- Investigators found that Norfolk Southern withheld vital information from emergency workers that the five tanker cars carrying vinyl chloride were not heating up and in danger of exploding.
- Norfolk Southern did not notify firefighters and other first responders in a timely manner that the train was carrying highly toxic chemicals and that those cars were among the ones that derailed.
- Roughly 25 percent, one in four, of the rail cars on the train did not meet federal safety standards.
The report also asserted that crew members acted correctly and were not responsible for the derailments.
Looking back at the reports, I wanted to note that Ohio Senator and now Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance did visit East Palestine in the wake of the incident.
Senator JD Vance (R-OH) checked out a creek in the impacted area . . . and suggested that if the tap water were safe to drink, perhaps EPA head Regan should be willing to drink it.
I am really looking forward to Vance bringing up Biden’s hapless administration, especially the Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg.
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