Safety board investigation of Ohio train derailment leads to recommendations

Washington — The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a series of recommendations to several entities in a new report on the Feb. 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, OH.

The report highlights key safety findings from NTSB’s investigation of the incident. The agency determined that a defective wheel bearing on one of the train’s rail cars failed and overheated, causing the derailment and a subsequent hazardous material release. The 38 rail cars that derailed burned for more than two days, forcing thousands of nearby residents to evacuate.

In all, NTSB issued 34 new safety recommendations – and reiterated a previously issued recommendation – to the transportation secretary, Federal Railroad Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, state of Ohio, Association of American Railroads, Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency, Chlorine Institute, Norfolk Southern Railway, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, American Chemistry Council, Oxy Vinyls LP, and National Volunteer Fire Council.

Among the recommendations:
To the transportation secretary: Require FRA to issue regulations for inward-facing recorders that include image and audio recordings. If necessary, legislative authority should be used to enact this recommendation.
To FRA: Using lessons learned from the East Palestine incident, update and republish the agency’s 2007 vent and burn reports and make them available to emergency responder associations.
To PHMSA: Require that hazardous material placards be able to withstand fires and incidents long enough to fulfill their functions of allowing emergency responders to immediately identify hazards.
To the state of Ohio: Amend the firefighter training statute and revise volunteer firefighter certification standards to meet NFPA 1010, the Standard for Professional Firefighters.
To NVFC: Identify barriers to adequate fire and emergency response training for volunteer firefighters, particularly for situations where hazardous materials are present. Publish actions that states, municipalities and the private sector can take to provide flexibility for volunteer firefighters to obtain training.
To Norfolk Southern Railway: Review and revise procedures to immediately provide emergency responders with an accurate copy of the train consist upon becoming aware of a crash/derailment incident.
To Oxy Vinyls: Update the Safety Data Sheet for vinyl chloride monomer to accurately reflect the potential risks, and the hazards that increase such risks.