NTSB sending investigators to the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment in west central Ohio where officials reported no hazardous spills

CNN
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The National Transportation Safety Board is sending investigators to west central Ohio Monday after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed there over the weekend, prompting calls to shelter in place before authorities announced the wreck was not hazardous and there was no environmental harm.

The derailment near Springfield, Ohio, just 1,000 feet from homes, happened Saturday, one month after another Norfolk Southern train wreck across the state in East Palestine put the company under intense scrutiny over contamination that seeped into the small town.

The 212-car freight train Saturday was heading south through Clark County en route to Birmingham, Alabama, when 28 of its cars derailed, downing large high-tension power lines, knocking out power to some residents and temporarily prompting shelter-in-place orders for homes within 1,000 feet, authorities said.

The cause of the derailment remains under investigation, Norfolk Southern said.

Crews have determined there were no spills from the derailed cars, officials said.

“There was no release of any chemical or any hazardous material to the soil, to the air, to the water,” Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director Anne Vogel said Sunday.

Four of the derailed cars were empty tankers carrying minimal residual product in “very minor amounts” that “dried very quickly,” Springfield Fire Assistant Chief Matt Smith said, adding his team checked the crash site and determined nothing had spilled onto the ground.

The four tank cars with residue had previously been carrying diesel exhaust fluid and an additive commonly used in wastewater treatment, but were empty when they derailed, according to Norfolk Southern General Manager of Operations Kraig Barner.

“There’s always a small residual amount left in the tanks,” Smith told CNN. “The derailed tank cars are not hazardous.”

One car was carrying PVC pellets that affected the soil at the crash site, Vogel noted, adding that the EPA “will be onsite ensuring that as cars are removed by Norfolk Southern that the soil is not impacted under the ground.”

After the derailment, authorities sought to assure the community in Clark County that their air, water and soil are safe.

“Since there have been no releases, we’re looking at clean air, clean soil and clean water for our residents,” Clark County Health Commissioner Charles Patterson said. “Technicians will continue to be on site to ensure that there isn’t any contamination that has been missed.”

“There have been multiple sweeps by multiple teams of technicians, hazmat and Ohio EPA to ensure that there aren’t any chemicals present in the soil, air or water that would harm the public here in Clark County,” Patterson added.

The assurances come as crews more than 200 miles away in East Palestine are still working to clear contaminated soil and liquid from the February 3 toxic wreck of another Norfolk Southern train.

The East Palestine derailment fueled outcry among residents who have complained of symptoms, including headaches and coughing after the fiery crash. The train was hauling the dangerous chemical vinyl chloride – which was released and burned to prevent a potentially deadly explosion – and other chemicals that are feared to have leaked into the surrounding ecosystem.

The process of removing soil from under the tracks at the derailment site in East Palestine began Saturday morning, the federal Environmental Protection Agency said. The agency had ordered Norfolk Southern to remediate the site, including the excavation of potentially contaminated soil.

The work could take up to two months, depending on weather conditions and other unforeseen delays, the agency said, noting nearby residents may notice additional odors during that time. While the soil work is underway, Norfolk Southern has agreed to provide financial assistance to residents for various necessities, including temporary lodging, travel, food and clothing, the EPA said.

Impacts from the aftermath of the East Palestine derailment were also felt in nearby communities in Pennsylvania, where Norfolk Southern has made an “initial agreement” to pay millions for damages there, officials said Monday.

The railroad will establish a $1 million community relief fund to support local businesses and residents impacted by the crash in Beaver and Lawrence counties, a news release from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said.

Norfolk Southern also agreed to pay $5 million to reimburse Pennsylvania fire departments that have to replace damaged or contaminated equipment after responding to the derailment, the release said. The agreement also includes money to cover some operating and response costs for Pennsylvania’s environmental protection, health and emergency management departments.

These payments would be separate from other “applicable legal obligations” that may be imposed, the release said.

Norfolk Southern earned a record $3.3 billion in net income last year, more than 400 times greater than the $7.4 million that Shapiro said the company agreed to pay to Pennsylvania communities. It spent $4.2 billion on share repurchases and dividends to shareholders and has plans to repurchase another $7.5 billion in shares going forward, or more than 1,000 times the initial amount it has promised to Pennsylvania.

The agreement in Pennsylvania comes as Norfolk Southern faces criticism from the American Rail System Federation, a union for railroad workers, which said in a letter last week that employees who responded to the crash site in East Palestine were not provided proper protective equipment and were experiencing migraines and nausea.

“Norfolk Southern was on-scene immediately after the derailment and coordinated our response with hazardous material professionals,” the railroad said in a statement, noting the “required PPE was utilized, all in addition to air monitoring that was established within an hour.”

The company said it had not received any reports of injury or illness from employees involved in the initial response. “We have been coordinating our testing protocols with government agencies to enhance the health and safety of the community and our personnel, and we are committed to working with our employees to do what’s right for the citizens of East Palestine,” the railroad said in the statement.

In Clark County, when asked if there were hazardous materials carried in other parts of the train, Barner said Sunday there were a few propane and ethanol tankers on the train, while the rest was mixed freight, including steel and finished automobiles.

But he emphasized that none of the derailed cars were carrying hazardous material.

Last month’s derailment put rail safety under the spotlight and raised questions about regulations surrounding the transport of hazardous materials. Data from the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis shows there have been at least 1,000 derailments in the United States each year during the past decade.

Officials from the Federal Railroad Association will also travel to Clark County, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Saturday.

“I have been briefed by FRA leadership and spoke with Gov. (Mike) DeWine to offer our support after the derailment today in Clark County, Ohio. No hazardous material release has been reported, but we will continue to monitor closely and FRA personnel are en route,” Buttigieg said in a tweet on Saturday.