Ohio train derailment: Expert calls out officials for not being ‘forthright and transparent enough’

Days after a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, causing a toxic chemical spill and massive blaze, residents were given the all-clear to return home.

But even though EPA officials stated that the air and municipal water were safe for residents, it has done little to alleviate the community's fears over the long-term health and environmental effects of the disaster.

"I haven't seen enough information yet to really understand what the officials have done, what evidence they used to make those decisions, and what they're doing right now," Purdue University Lyles School Professor Andrew J. Whelton told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). "That, unfortunately, has been one of the lessons learned from this incident — state, federal, and local officials haven't been forthright and transparent enough with the population."

Reports of a lingering odor in the area, thousands of fish deaths in local creeks, and animals falling ill have added to mounting skepticism of the cleanup efforts.

The residents of East Palestine voiced their frustrations at a public meeting on Wednesday, particularly when Norfolk Southern (NSC), which operated the derailed train, elected to not attend.

"I'm just as frustrated," East Palestine's Mayor Trent Conaway said at the meeting. "I live in the community, just like you. I'm trying to get answers. I cannot force them [Norfolk Southern] to be here."

Updates on the derailment have traveled up to the federal government, which is primarily responsible for regulating railroads. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said that he spoke with President Biden over the phone and that Biden offered to help, but DeWine has not taken the president up on his offer.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg weighed in on the situation in an interview with Yahoo Finance on Thursday, stating that "the most urgent thing right now is to make sure that these residents get the information that they need. They're concerned, they’re frightened, and with good reason."

What happened in East Palestine, Ohio?

Around 9 p.m. ET on February 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in the village of East Palestine near the Pennsylvania border. Of the train's 150 cars, 38 derailed and caught on fire. Eleven of the cars that derailed contained hazardous materials.

None of the three rail workers on board were hurt in the derailment and subsequent fire.

The contents of the cars, which weren't made known to the public until nine days after the incident, included industrial chemicals such as vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, and benzene. These compounds are commonly found in plastics and adhesives, but can still be toxic at high concentrations.

The release of vinyl chloride, which is a known carcinogenic, was of particular concern to health officials. When burned, vinyl chloride can react with the air to produce hydrochloric acid and phosgene gas, a poisonous irritant used in World War I, though the extent of such reactions in the atmosphere is unclear.

Roughly 4,800 people in Ohio and Pennsylvania were evacuated due to health risks from the chemical spill. Some residents were even threatened with arrest for not complying.

In the following days, crews on the scene grew concerned about the temperature in some of the tankers. Officials, in consultation with Norfolk Southern and the National Guard, opted to do a "controlled release" and burn off the chemicals on Feb. 6.

“It was clear at that point that we were faced with two bad options,” Gov. DeWine said at a press conference, explaining that if the cars were left alone, there was a "high probability" that an explosion would occur, sending shrapnel flying for "close to a mile."

"There were just terrible decisions you had to make," echoed Purdue's Lyle. "One was you allow the rail cars to explode on their own, and then gaseous clouds move through the community. Or the other one is try to do some type of controlled release and combustion. It was just a tremendously challenging issue."

However, in a letter to Norfolk Southern CEO, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro accused the company of putting “the safety of our first responders and residents at significant risk” in its response and coordination of the chemical release.

Norfolk Southern initially donated $25,000 to aid the residents of East Palestine and set up a "family assistance center" in the community. The company later established a $1.2 million fund of financial assistance.

In the meantime, the rail line returned to service on Feb. 7 and Norfolk Southern began working on clearing the backlog of rail traffic.

Several lawsuits on behalf of Ohio and Pennsylvania residents have been filed to cover damages and long-term medical testing.

Residual health concerns after Ohio train derailment

According to Whelton, the top concern now will be figuring out the extent of pollution in the air, water, and soil, while making sure that residents aren't substantially harmed by it.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) estimated that 3,500 fish in local creeks died in the first couple of days after the incident. Other reports surfaced of dead chickens and pets, though ODNR stated it found no evidence that non-aquatic life had died.

The EPA acknowledged that contaminants were detected in the Leslie Run and Sulphur Run, and that butyl acrylate had made its way into the Ohio River. A plume of chemicals from the initial spill is also making its way down the Ohio River at 1 mile per hour, which has fed into growing concerns among populations downriver.

The EPA also stressed that its testing has not indicated water quality issues for those in East Palestine as well as populations downstream.

Ohio EPA Chief Tiffani Kavalec stated that the agency detected "very low levels" of volatile organic compounds in the Ohio River and that these compounds will continue to be diluted over time. Although the Ohio River basin covers an area with 25 million people, many cities and towns have reservoirs and rely on water sources other than the Ohio River.

Ohio officials did encourage East Palestine residents to use bottled water for a short period of time, particularly for those who get their water from private wells, until further testing could be completed. And on Wednesday, DeWine announced that East Palestine's municipal water system contained no contaminants and was safe to drink.

Derailment fuels railroad scrutiny

The disaster has brought fresh scrutiny to the lean operations and lax federal regulation of railroads.

In a statement, Norfolk Southern said the derailment was caused by a mechanical failure on one of the car's axles. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is currently conducting an investigation into the matter.

Sec. Buttigieg stated the Transportation Department is "paying very close attention" to the NTSB's findings and that “Norfolk Southern will have to answer to EPA for the environmental side and to our department if there were any violations of rules that were found.”

Although the train derailment in East Palestine has been particularly catastrophic, train derailments are not that uncommon. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there have been around 1,000 train derailments each year for the past three years, a number which has been coming down in recent decades but is still elevated.

Railroads are largely regulated at a federal level, which created friction in the initial response to the disaster.

“This train was not considered a high hazardous material train — therefore the railroad was not required to notify anyone in Ohio about what was in the rail cars coming through our state,” DeWine said in a press conference. “This is absurd, and we need to look at this, and Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled.”

After two deadly derailments in Montreal, Quebec, and North Dakota in 2013 and 2014, respectively, the Obama administration pushed for a new rail safety rule that proposed to change how hazardous materials are classified and require trains to be equipped with advanced braking systems. Industry lobbyists, including Norfolk Southern, fought the rule, which was ultimately watered down to only apply to "high hazard trains."

Former President Trump overturned the rule in 2018 as part of a wider push to cut regulation, and the Biden administration failed to revive it.

The incident has also renewed criticism over the precision scheduled railroad business model — which has been highly profitable for Norfolk Southern — as well as safety concerns amid ongoing job cuts.

Gov. DeWine reiterated that Ohio will ensure Norfolk Southern stays until it is cleaned up.

"They're going to be held accountable," he said.

—

Grace is an Editor at Yahoo Finance.

Click here for politics news related to business and money

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube