EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Residents of an eastern Ohio village are learning more about the fiery wreck of a Norfolk Southern freight train last year that derailed their lives as another hearing gets underway, with the National Transportation Safety Board set to discuss the ongoing investigation and issue recommendations for averting future disasters.
“We will continue to pursue and advocate for these safety recommendations until each one is implemented,” he said. A key point Tuesday is the expected release of NTSB recommendations for safety improvements. Though NTSB recommendations aren't binding, Congress may be willing to enforce some of them because of the spotlight cast on rail safety by the crash.
For his part, Norfolk Southern's CEO Alan Shaw pledged to “make things right” in East Palestine with more than $100 million in aid to residents and the community. Shaw also hired a consultant from the nuclear power industry to recommend changes and tried to work with labor. Still, critics said Norfolk Southern was too often satisfied in the past with doing only the minimum required for safety and workers reported no big changes in day-to-day operations.
But Ohio's governor, first responders and the hazardous materials experts who made that decision have said the information they had that day made them believe an explosion was likely imminent, making the burn their best option despite the risks of unleashing cancer-causing dioxins in the area.