Reported by Bill Stephens for Trains
Note: Updated at 10:22 a.m. on June 27 with comment from TTD officials.
The 31 new safety recommendations that the National Transportation Safety Board made yesterday in response to Norfolk Southern’s hazardous materials wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, have prompted a flurry of responses from the rail industry, lawmakers, and union leaders.
The Feb. 3, 2023, derailment was caused by the failure of a wheel bearing on a covered hopper. The post-derailment fire and initial release of hazardous materials was exacerbated by the use of DOT-111 tank cars, the board said. The NTSB also said it was unnecessary for Norfolk Southern and its contractors to conduct a vent and burn of five tank cars laden with vinyl chloride.
Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, and Shari Semelsberger, the group’s secretary-treasurer, on Wednesday said the NTSB’s findings and recommendations were confirmation of widespread safety problems that railroad workers have been warning about for years.
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