State Senator and Majority Leader Joe Pittman has issued a statement concerning the need for assessment of the actions that lead to and happened after a train derailment near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border earlier this month.
On February 3rd, 50 cars on a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine (Pal-ess-tin), Ohio. The train was carrying Vinyl Chloride. Residents around the derailment site were evacuated and a controlled burn of the spill was performed, releasing hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air. The National Transportation Safety Board released preliminary findings indicated that the cause of the derailment was a mechanical issue on one of the rail car’s trucks. Nearly 70 emergency response agencies from Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were sent in to help out.
(In an interview on Indiana in the Morning,) Senator Pittman said that the State Senate is trying to get answers, but as this happened in Ohio, and there were multiple state and federal agencies involved, he said that there are a lot of moving pieces to the puzzle.
Pittman also criticized the lack of public involvement by Norforlk Southern. The freight company was scheduled to attend a town hall meeting last night to answer concerns of citizens who had returned home, but were suffering ill effects from the chemicals that may still be present in the area. Pittman said that Norfolk Southern’s transparency needs to improve.
He did say that the transport of dangerous chemicals happens each day, and on the whole, there are not a lot of mishaps.
You can listen to the full interview by clicking on the media player below.
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