WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board on Friday released the final report on the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern derailment and hazardous chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio — a document finalized by the June 25 meeting held by the board in East Palestine.
As indicated at that meeting [see “NTSB issues 31 new recommendations …,” Trains News Wire, June 25, 2024]. the 216-page report determines that the 38-car derailment occurred because of a catastrophic bearing failure on a hopper car that caused an axle to separate; and that the vent-and-burn procedure to deal with derailed cars of vinyl chloride monomer was not necessary. That procedure created the ominous cloud of black smoke that became the visual signature of the event and helped spread the toxic material. Among other findings, the board also determined Ohio laws did not require sufficient training for volunteer firefighters to prepare them for the incident,
The report’s safety recommendations are addressed to Norfolk Southern, the railroad industry, regulators, shippers, chemical manufacturers, and first responders. Among them are calls for research on the effectiveness of hot-bearing detectors, to be used to establish new standards for such systems; to accelerate the phase-out of DOT-111 tank cars from hazardous-material service; to update an FRA vent-and-burn report with updated guidance on when to conduct such procedures; for revision of Ohio’s standards for volunteer firefighter training; and for hazardous-material placards on railcars that can survive fires and accidents and remain legible long enough to fulfill their function in emergency istuations.
The investigation is summarized at this page of the NTSB website. The final report is available here.
