National transport security The board said that during the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last February, Norfolk Southern and its contractors unnecessarily burned toxic chemicals — including vinyl chloride — from their tank cars, releasing dangerous fumes into the air.
At a board meeting on Tuesday, the NTSB said an overheated wheel bearing caused the derailment, adding that Norfolk Southern and its contractors “misinterpreted and ignored evidence” in making their decision to conduct a controversial controlled burn because of the concerns that vinyl chloride could possibly explode.
Following the decision by Norfolk Southern and its contractors to dispose of and burn the chemicals, plumes of black smoke filled the skies of eastern Palestine for days. The derailment and fumes prompted between 1,500 and 2,000 of the city’s approximately 4,900 residents to evacuate. It also caused what residents described as several health problems, including nausea, diarrhea and headaches due to chemical exposure.
Vinyl chloride, a colorless and highly flammable gas used to make plastic, can cause a host of health problems, including drowsiness, loss of coordination, visual and hearing abnormalities, nausea, headaches and, in some cases, death. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At Tuesday’s board meeting, the NTSB said that OxyVinyls, the manufacturer of vinyl chloride, informed Norfolk Southern that there was no risk of explosion because the chemicals were stored in tankers sturdy enough to withstand crashes, according to Politico. The outlet further reported that the vinyl chloride had been stabilized to prevent any chemical reactions.
However, Norfolk Southern and its contractors failed to notify the local fire marshal that the chemicals did not need to be burned. Other hazardous chemicals released during the derailment included butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether.
Paul Stancil, a hazardous materials investigator with the NTSB, also reportedly said at the board meeting: “Norfolk Southern’s contractors, who had control over the derailment scene assessment, compromised the integrity of the venting and fire decision by withhold complete … information from the incident commander. “, reports Politics.
Stancil added: “Norfolk Southern and its contractors continued to emphasize the need for a vent and burn, even though the available evidence should have caused them to reevaluate their initial conclusion.”
Norfolk Southern pushed back against the NTSB’s findings, saying it withheld no information from local officials and that they could have spoken to OxyVinyls employees who were at the scene of the derailment.
“There was no obstacle to them making their views known to the final decision makers,” Norfolk Southern said said in a statement. The company also said OxyVinyls provided it with “conflicting information.”
“The venting and combustion effectively prevented a possible uncontrolled explosion. There was no loss of life, injuries or property damage, and contractors have taken steps to manage the environmental impact,” Norfolk Southern said.
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy noted at the meeting that “the absence of fatalities or injuries does not indicate safety,” according to the Associated Press.
In May, Norfolk South agreed to pay a $310 million settlement with the US government over the disastrous derailment. In addition to paying a $15 million civil penalty for violating clean water laws, the company agreed to pay hundreds of millions in cleanup costs.
The settlement came a month after the company agreed to pay $600 million in a class action lawsuit, which it said would resolve all class action claims within a twenty-mile radius of the derailment.
Hazardous chemicals released into the air after the derailment spread to 16 states, according to a report released last month.
“We saw the chemical signal from this fire in many locations and far away,” David Gay, a University of Wisconsin researcher and lead author of the report, said in June.
“There was more than we ever imagined,” he said, adding: “That could go a long way in spreading the pollution… and it was a nasty little fire with a lot of emissions.”