A wheel on the Norfolk Southern Corp. train that derailed earlier this month in Ohio was too hot in the moments before the accident, and crew members weren’t alerted to the problem in time, according to initial findings by US investigators.
(Bloomberg) — A wheel on the Norfolk Southern Corp. train that derailed earlier this month in Ohio was too hot in the moments before the accident, and crew members weren’t alerted to the problem in time, according to initial findings by US investigators.
While sensors detected rising temperatures, a warning didn’t sound until the wheel bearing was 253 degrees hotter than expected, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday in its preliminary report. As crew members attempted to apply the brakes, the component failed, sending the train off its tracks and spilling toxic chemicals across the land.
Investigators found no signs of worker errors or track defects, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said in a briefing to discuss the initial findings. She called the derailment “100% preventable.”
“We call things accidents,” she said. “There is no accident. Every single thing that we investigate is preventable.”
The NTSB will hold what Homendy called a “rare” investigative hearing in the area this spring. The safety board uses such hearings to learn more about safety issues related to accidents by interviewing panels of those involved in a mishap and technical experts.
The preliminary report offered new details about the catastrophe that has drawn national attention, but stopped short of offering conclusions on the underlying causes. The NTSB previously suggested that overheating was a factor.
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Norfolk Southern said in a statement the NTSB noted its rail crew operated the train “within the company’s rules” and “below the track speed limit.” The company also said its heat detectors were operating as designed, triggering an alarm at “a temperature threshold that is among the lowest in the rail industry.”
The freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, releasing toxic chemicals and prompting a brief evacuation of local residents. The disaster has put pressure on both Norfolk Southern and the Biden administration to ensure a proper cleanup effort is carried out. Some residents in the sparsely populated town have reported headaches, lingering odors and deaths of animals.
Speaking with reporters after visiting the train derailment site in East Palestine on Thursday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called on Congress to adopt tougher rail safety requirements, such as notifying state and local officials when hazardous materials are being transported and for the railroads to stop opposing attempts to regulate them.
Former President Donald Trump also visited this week, using the occasion to criticize the Biden administration’s response to the crash.
Read more: Biden Calls Officials Over Ohio Derailment as Criticism Rises
Homendy derided what she said were efforts to politicize the derailment, saying she didn’t “understand why this has gotten so political.”
“Enough with the politics on this,” she said. “This is a community that is suffering. This is not about politics. This about addressing their needs, their concerns.”
Rapid Increase
The NTSB report cited readings from track-side sensors showing a rapid increase in the bearing’s temperature before the crash. So-called hot bearing detectors are placed periodically on railroad beds to help detect possible failures by looking for overheated wheel assemblies.
The component that failed was was 38 degrees above the ambient temperature when it crossed a sensor about 29 miles before the derailment, the NTSB said. It had risen to 103 above normal 10 miles later, and spiked to 253 degrees above ambient temperature at about the time of the failure.
Only the third sensor prompted an alarm because Norfolk Southern’s system doesn’t require inspections on overheated bearings until they reach 170 degrees above ambient temperature, or a difference of 115 degrees between bearings on the same axle, the NTSB said. Over 200 degrees above ambient is considered “critical.”
The train crew applied the brakes after getting an alert, but it was too late to prevent the accident.
The NTSB said its investigation is still ongoing. The agency will focus in part on the wheelset and bearing; tank car design and derailment damage; and a review of the accident response in the future.
The Environmental Protection Agency this week called on Norfolk Southern to conduct cleanup operations in accordance with an approved plan and pay for remediation costs. The company has pledged to pay for the work and reimburse residents for the disruption.
At a news conference, the governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania raised the prospect of criminal charges, saying the state attorneys general were reviewing the matter.
–With assistance from Mark Niquette.
(Updates with Norfolk Southern comments in seventh paragraph)
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