Science and Medicine

East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment

On February 3, 2023, at 8:55 p.m. EST (UTC−5), a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, United States. The train was carrying hazardous materials when 38 cars derailed. Several railcars burned for more than two days and emergency crews also conducted controlled burns of several railcars, which released hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air. Residents within a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) radius were evacuated. Agencies from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia assisted in the emergency response. Following the derailment, reaction and commentary focused on industry working conditions and safety concerns, including: the lack of modern brake safety regulations, the implementation of precision scheduled railroading (PSR), reduced railway workers per train, and increased train lengths and weight. Critics said train companies had failed to invest in maintenance to prevent accidents, even though they conduct stock buybacks. Several unions and consumer organizations expressed concern about private ownership of railways and a "profit-driven approach", which they said puts workers and communities at high risk. The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) also called for public ownership of the US railway systems. Major US railroads promised to overhaul safety in the industry as a direct result of the East Palestine disaster. Although the number of derailments rose in the top five freight railroads in 2023, Norfolk Southern was the only railroad among the five to report a decline in accidents in that period. A group of the railroads also promised to enroll in the Federal Railroad Administration's "close-call incident reporting system." NS was the first to join the system, with BNSF joining a few months later. In June 2024, the National Transportation Safety Board held a meeting in East Palestine to review its findings on the incident. The board voted unanimously to accept the findings and announced it would issue a report. Norfolk Southern announced it had endorsed the agency's recommendations. By October 2023, Norfolk Southern removed more than 167,000 tons of contaminated soil and more than 39 million U.S.

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See also

• ▸Antibiotic use in livestock
• ▸Bridal crown
• ▸Chagas disease

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