The agency confirmed that a trackside sensor didn’t detect a burning rail bearing suspected in causing the derailment in time.
More than a year after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed and exploded in East Palestine, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) returned to the eastern Ohio village to discuss its investigation into the disaster and offer recommendations to prevent future calamities.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy opened the June 25 hearing by stating: “On behalf of the entire agency I want to recognize the significant impact this derailment has had.”
Some people have minimized the effects of the derailment and the decision to vent and burn because there were no deaths, but “the absence of fatality or injury doesn’t mean the presence of safety,” Ms. Homendy remarked.
On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern Railway freight train carrying 151 cars derailed, spilling hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, onto the ground and into the air.
Burning vinyl chloride also produces a small amount of phosgene gas, which was used as a chemical weapon on World War I battlefields. When 38 of the rail cars derailed, a fire ensued, damaging an additional 12 cars.
Eleven cars carrying hazardous materials derailed, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Fears escalated in the immediate aftermath of the wreck.
To avoid an explosion that officials said would send shrapnel flying around, vinyl chloride was intentionally released and burned on Feb. 6, 2023, sending a massive cloud of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles around.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine lifted an evacuation order on Feb. 8, 2023, saying it was safe for residents to return to their homes. After that, officials from federal and state agencies repeatedly said tests show that the air and water are safe in East Palestine and surrounding communities.
However, residents are still reporting headaches, vomiting, burning eyes, rashes, and other ailments.
The Cause
At the hearing, the NTSB confirmed that a trackside sensor in Salem, Ohio–located 20 miles west of East Palestine–didn’t detect a burning rail bearing suspected of causing the derailment.
The NTSB also announced that firefighters didn’t receive details of what the train was carrying for more than an hour after the derailment.
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