Crew tried to slow train, NTSB says
Buttigieg visits site of Ohio derailment, rips rail companies
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The crew of a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic chemicals tried to slow the train moments before it derailed in the outskirts of East Palestine earlier this month as an overheating wheel bearing set off an audible alarm on the train, an initial report from federal investigators found.
While the wheel bearing had steadily been heating up as the train traveled through Ohio, the alarm did not go off until a sensor registered that the wheel had reached 253 degrees above the ambient temperature, a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board found. Two earlier sensors had not registered a temperature high enough to trigger an alarm, the report said.
The crew then saw fire and smoke and reported a possible derailment to the dispatcher. Five of the derailed cars were carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride, a colorless hazardous gas.
The train was going 47 mph at the time, just under the speed limit of 50 mph,
according to safety investigators.
The report was released Thursday as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured the site after being criticized for not visiting sooner, and amid mounting criticism of the overall federal response to the Feb. 3 derailment.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Buttigieg said he was “trying to strike the right balance” between showing support on the ground and allowing the safety board to take the lead in the early going. He praised “the resilience, the resolve and the decency” of the community amid the impact of the disaster itself and the crush of media and political attention.
The Biden White House has defended its response to the train derailment, saying officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, the transportation safety board and other agencies were at the rural site within hours of the derailment. The White House says it has also offered federal assistance and FEMA has been coordinating with the state emergency operations center and other partners.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan has been to East Palestine multiple times, most recently Tuesday as the agency ordered Norfolk Southern to pay for the cleanup.
Among those criticizing Buttigieg was former President Donald Trump, who
came to Ohio on Wednesday. The Department of Transportation said Buttigieg is visiting now that the EPA has declared the emergency phase of the crash to be over and the start of long-term cleanup efforts is underway.
Asked Thursday about the Trump visit, Buttigieg said that if the former president felt strongly about increased rail safety efforts, “one thing he could do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch.”
He slammed Norfolk Southern and other freight rail companies for fighting regulations he said would “hold them accountable and the other railroad companies accountable for their safety record. What we’ve seen is the industry goes to Washington and gets their way.”
He pressed Congress to act.
Ohio Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted told CNN ahead of the report’s release that its findings had the potential to form the basis of a criminal referral from the state. He also said Norfolk Southern should temporarily relocate people who continue to feel unsafe, or even consider buying their property.
“This is the railroad’s responsibility, and it’s up to the government officials at the federal, state and local levels to hold them accountable and do right by the citizens of East Palestine,” Husted said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has already made a criminal referral of Norfolk Southern to the state attorney general’s office.
Heather Bable, who lives two blocks from the derailment site, said she’s relieved the government’s top brass is finally showing up.
“We need that attention because we weren’t getting it. They should have been here all along,” said Bable, who was among residents lining the streets in the rain Wednesday to welcome Trump.
The reception for Buttigieg was decidedly more muted in the village of nearly 5,000 residents. Trump won nearly 72% of the vote in this heavily GOP region in the 2020 election.
Buttigieg’s visit came nearly three weeks after more than three dozen freight cars — including 11 carrying hazardous materials — derailed on the East Palestine outskirts, near the Pennsylvania state line, prompting an evacuation.
Officials seeking to avoid an uncontrolled blast intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke into the sky. That left people questioning the potential health effects.
As remediation of the site continued, Norfolk Southern announced late Wednesday that it had agreed to excavate the soil under two tracks.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had called out the company’s failure to address the contaminated soil underneath its tracks before repairing them and running freight again.
“Our original plan would have effectively and safely remediated the soil under our tracks. As I listened to community members over the past two weeks, they shared with me their concerns about that approach. I appreciate the direct feedback, and I am addressing it,” Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a written statement.