By Justin Franz

Norfolk Southern’s decision to “vent and burn” toxic material inside tank cars that derailed last year in East Palestine, Ohio — resulting in a terrifying and spectacular black smoke plume over the small town — was unnecessary and dangerous, the National Transportation Safety Board said this week. 

Members of the NTSB were in East Palestine for a series of hearings where they released the final report into the explosive train wreck there on Feb. 3, 2023. Five of the 50 cars that derailed contained vinyl chloride, a dangerous gas used to make plastic products. The wreck caught fire and burned for days. On February 6, the railroad conducted a “controlled release” to try and burn off more material and avoid a more disastrous uncontrolled explosion.

Now the NTSB says that decision was unnecessary because the chemical had been stabilized to prevent a disastrous chemical reaction. The NTSB also said that NS did not do enough to inform local first responders of what exactly was on the train and that it also withheld information — including during the NTSB’s investigation. NS has defended its actions and said it did not deceive anyone. It also has said it stands by its actions on Feb. 6, noting that an uncontrolled explosion never happened and no one was killed. 

The final report mostly confirms what the NTSB found last year — that a hot bearing on a freight car caused the derailment. An initial report last year found that the temperature of the bearing in question had been slowly increasing for 30 miles before reaching East Palestine, but that when it reached NS’ threshold to actually stop and inspect the train, it was too late. As part of the report, the NTSB also made a series of recommendations for the rail industry, including urging railroads to stop trains with hot bearings sooner and to install more defect detectors to catch such problems before they turn into disasters. The board is also recommending that DOT-111 tank cars — the type used in the wreck as well as other incidents — be phased out faster than currently planned. 

Late Tuesday, NS said it had already taken numerous steps to improve safety on the railroad, long before the NTSB made its recommendations.

“We resolved not to wait for the NTSB’s final report before taking decisive action,” said John Fleps, Chief Safety Officer at Norfolk Southern. “We will continue to build on our strong safety culture through partnership and innovation to be the gold standard of safety for the rail industry.”