norfolk southern
Priorities for rail safety bill debated in U.S. Senate hearing with Norfolk Southern CEO
Members of a U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday previewed what they would push for in bipartisan rail safety legislation likely to progress through Congress in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hinted they wanted to strengthen requirements about reporting hazardous cargo, […]
U.S. Senate leader calls for safety audit into all major railroads after Ohio derailment
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Wednesday for the federal authority responsible for determining the causes of transportation casualties to investigate the safety culture at all major North American freight railroads. Following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment that caused a toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, Schumer, a New York Democrat, said […]
Ohio Attorney General Yost sues Norfolk Southern over East Palestine train derailment
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a 58-count civil lawsuit in federal court Tuesday seeking to hold Norfolk Southern financially responsible for the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine that caused the release of over 1 million gallons of hazardous chemicals, “recklessly endangering” both the health of area residents and Ohio’s natural resources, a news […]
PUCO: A case study in regulatory passivity and failure in the face of crisis
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has had to deal with two very consequential crises within the scope of its jurisdiction, the House Bill 6 Scandal in electricity, and the Norfolk Southern derailments, particularly the one in East Palestine in transportation. In both cases, the commission posture has been one of passivity and minimal intervention. […]
Norfolk Southern CEO apologizes for Ohio crash, but won’t back bipartisan rail safety bill
The CEO of Norfolk Southern, the railroad operating the train that last month derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, apologized for the derailment at a U.S. Senate hearing Thursday, but declined solicitations to endorse a bipartisan rail safety bill. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw opened his testimony to the Senate Environment and […]
Will Norfolk Southern’s political spending help shield it from consequences?
Officials are all singing from the same hymnal. Republican and Democrat; state, local and federal; all agree Norfolk Southern will be, must be, held accountable for the train accident in East Palestine. Wednesday, U.S. Sens. J.D. Vance, R-OH and Sherrod Brown, D-OH, put pen to paper, introducing legislation for rail safety. But the company has […]
Opportunists exploiting East Palestine’s suffering population with politics and race-baiting
Poor East Palestine. It’s bad enough that the northeast Ohio village is living through the nightmare of a toxic train wreck. Apprehension and uncertainty grip the town. Nobody knows what the long-term health effects of air and water contamination will be after the controlled burning of cancer-causing chemicals from derailed tanker cars. Official reassurances that […]
ODNR Chief: Signs of life now present in waters near train derailment after 40,000+ fish killed
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said Thursday they are encouraged by the signs of life reemerging in waterways near the East Palestine chemical spill, even after further observations showed more than 40,000 fish lost as a result of the spill. ODNR Director Mary Mertz said the department found 43,785 fish were lost, though less […]
A Norfolk Southern policy lets officials order crews to ignore safety alerts
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Norfolk Southern allows a monitoring team to instruct crews to ignore alerts from train track sensors designed to flag potential mechanical problems. ProPublica learned of […]
Pa.’s Shapiro blasts Norfolk Southern for ‘arrogance and incompetence’ in train derailment
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – Freight hauler Norfolk Southern showed “arrogance and incompetence” in how it handled a fiery train derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border earlier this month, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday. “The combination of greed, incompetence and lack of concern for our residents is absolutely unacceptable to me,” Shapiro said during a news […]
Congressional delegation and EPA visit East Palestine to hear from residents impacted by derailment
In East Palestine Thursday, an Ohio congressman, both U.S. Senators and the EPA administrator heard from residents impacted by the train derailment earlier this month. Officials insisted they would do everything in their power to hold the train company Norfolk Southern accountable. U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance voiced skepticism on multiple fronts during his visit. He […]
How dangerous was the Ohio chemical train derailment? An environmental engineer assesses the risks
Headaches and lingering chemical smells from a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have left residents worried about their air and water – and misinformation on social media hasn’t helped. State officials offered more details of the cleanup process and a timeline of the environmental disaster during a news conference on Feb. 14, 2023. […]