Federal security board releases preliminary report on Ohio derailment
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board launched a preliminary report Thursday on its investigation of the Feb. 3 practice wreck in Ohio, offering no agency conclusions about the reason for the accident however itemizing numerous elements that will have contributed, together with the chance that the crew ignored warnings about overheated wheel bearings.
The report comes practically three weeks after the 149-car Norfolk Southern practice carrying 20 carloads of hazardous supplies derailed and caught fireplace, spewing chemical substances like extremely poisonous vinyl chloride into the realm round East Palestine, Ohio, and forcing an evacuation of most of the city’s 4,700 residents.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured the accident web site Thursday morning and spoke with reporters afterward. Buttigieg and the Biden administration have been criticized for a sluggish response to the catastrophe, with many in the neighborhood expressing alarm about potential well being issues from the chemical exposures in air, soil and water.
Buttigieg underscored that DOT, EPA and different federal responders have been current because the “early hours” of the accident and added that DOT is not going to wait till a ultimate NTSB report back to “do every thing we are able to to lift the bar on rail security and to carry folks accountable.”
“That is the opposite a part of my go to right here is to make it possible for we are able to assess easy methods to drive the perfect security enhancements throughout our nationwide transportation system,” he stated. “Any nationwide political determine who has determined to become involved within the plight of East Palestine, I’ve a easy message, which is, I want your assist.”
