A “preventable” and “traumatic” derailment of trains carrying hazardous chemicals in Ohio was caused by overheated wheel bearings that were 253 degrees hotter than ambient temperatures, National Transportation Safety Board officials said Thursday.
The NTSB released a preliminary report on Feb. 3 that a 150-car Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, west of the Pennsylvania state line.
NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homandy announced that the board will hold an investigative on-site investigation in the East Palestine region in the spring in addition to its regular plenary meeting in Washington, DC.
“We don’t usually have investigations [field] But we hope this will help us get more factual information and agree on the necessary changes,” Homandy told NBC News after the press conference.
“The community deserves some answers, and being there allows you to see and hear what they have to say,” he said.
According to the NTSB report, a warning message was sent to the train crew after the railroad’s built-in fault detectors recorded that the wheel bearing temperature of the 23rd car was 253 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient.
Above 170 degrees, Norfolk Southern’s policy requires engineers to stop the train.
The engineer applied the brakes, but before the train could come to a complete stop, the 23rd car derailed and the automatic emergency brakes were applied along with another car.
Later, “crews observed fire and smoke and alerted Cleveland East of the derailment,” the report said.
NTSB officials said there were no signs of track defects or errors among crew members aboard the nearly 18,000-ton, 9,300-foot-long train.
“We have no indication that they did anything wrong,” Homendi told NBC News. “At this point we believe they acted appropriately and there is no evidence to the contrary.”
But the cause of the bearing failure will be the focus of an ongoing investigation, he told a news conference.
“I can’t wait for them to fail,” Homandy told reporters. “To prevent a tragedy like this from happening again, we need to identify the problem early.”
Homandi also delivered the following message to the people of East Palestine: “I am truly sorry for the traumatic events you are going through, it is shocking.”
She rejected the notion that the derailment was an inevitable accident.
“I can say this much,” Homandy said, “it’s 100 percent preventable.” “We call them accidents. No accidents. Every incident we investigate is preventable. So our hearts are with you.”
The Norfolk Southern train traveled from Madison, Illinois to Conway, Pennsylvania. A previous detector en route registered a temperature of 103 degrees above ambient, which Norfolk Southern protocols deem not dangerous enough to stop.
The company said in a statement Thursday that it was working with investigators and that the detector “triggers an alarm at the lowest temperature threshold in the rail industry.”
The statement further said, “Under the supervision of the Central Railway Administration, the company has inspected all the wayside detection equipment in the accident area and determined that they are functioning normally.” “With great care, Norfolk Southern is currently analyzing the approximately 1,000 roadside heat detectors in the system. We regularly inspect the detectors every 30 days.”
The initial report also explained why Norfolk Southern chose to release and burn the chemical vinyl chloride in the days following the derailment. The report said the temperature inside the tank vehicle carrying the liquid was rising, causing the chemical to undergo a reaction that increased the risk of an explosion.
A total of 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride, a highly flammable carcinogen used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for packaging and other products.
During a controlled release, responders dug trenches to contain the liquid as it evaporated and burned.
East Palestinian villages wracked with fear and unrest after train derailments and subsequent fires. Ohio officials reported thousands of dead fish in nearby streams. Some local residents sued Norfolk Southern.
The full NTSB investigation, which is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete, “will include reviews of wheel housings and bearings, tank car design and derailment damage, emissions and vinyl chloride burning, and rail car design, including accident response reviews. and will focus on maintenance procedures. and Procedures, NS [Norfolk Southern] Use of roadside fault detection equipment; NS Railway Vehicle Inspection Procedures,” reads the preliminary report.
Unions representing railway workers said on Wednesday that Norfolk Southern had prioritized speed over safety.
“However, ‘we tried to warn you’ doesn’t cut it,” the Transportation Communications Association said in a statement.
“Railways are increasingly relying on automated wayside detection equipment instead of human inspections. Railways have repeatedly sought waivers so that direct probes can replace automatic temperature detectors.”
On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered railway companies to check and clean up contaminated soil and water. On Wednesday, Norfolk Southern said it would temporarily remove the track and excavate the soil beneath it instead of improving the soil as originally planned.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has recommended a criminal prosecution of the derailment from his office, and officials in Ohio have suggested legal action may also be taken against the company.
Norfolk Southern continued to highlight the scope of its cleanup efforts and funds invested in East Palestine, including $3.4 million in financial aid to local families and $1 million in community support funds.
But the full impact of the derailment could take years to feel, said environmental activist Erin Brockovich.
“Don’t sign any signatures on the Norfolk Southern Railroad. They are not your friends,” Brockovich told MSNBC from eastern Palestine on Thursday. “At this point we can assume that the city’s water is safe. But not tomorrow. These chemicals degrade through the system over decades.