Federal transportation officials are expected to release a preliminary report Thursday examining the derailment of a train carrying dangerous chemicals that left a small Ohio town gripped by fear and anxiety.
The report from the National Transportation Safety Board could offer clues about what caused the 150-car Norfolk Southern Railway train to crash in East Palestine, just west of the Pennsylvania state line, on Feb. 3.
An official with the agency previously said one of the cars may have had a broken or malfunctioning axle.
The train was carrying several chemicals, including vinyl chloride, a highly flammable carcinogen used to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for packaging materials and other products, when it derailed at 8:55 p.m.
The possibility of a catastrophic tanker failure — and an explosion that could send shrapnel up to a mile — prompted Norfolk Southern Railway to carry out a controlled release on Feb. 6.
In the weeks since, state officials in Ohio reported a fish kill in nearby streams while residents have sought to protect their homes from contamination. Some who were forced to flee their homes during the release have sued the company, claiming negligence.
On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered the rail company to identify and clean contaminated soil and water. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said his office made a criminal referral over the derailment, while officials in Ohio signaled they may take legal action against the company as well.
The company launched a website documenting its cleanup effort and citing EPA data showing air and water safety data.
“We recognize that we have a responsibility, and we have committed to doing what’s right for the residents of East Palestine,” the company said in a statement included on the site.
“We are going to learn from this terrible accident and work with regulators and elected officials to improve railroad safety,” the statement added.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
