Safety Agency Faults Norfolk Southern for ‘Vent and Burn’ After 2023 Derailment

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday issued a series of recommendations aimed at preventing the type of freight train derailment that occurred last year in East Palestine, Ohio, when 38 rail cars operated by Norfolk Southern came off the tracks.

The safety agency also faulted Norfolk Southern for concluding that hazardous material being transported on 11 of the rail cars was at risk of exploding. That conclusion led to a “vent and burn,” in which toxic chemicals were released and incinerated, resulting in vast plumes of dark smoke rising above the town.

The controlled burn forced many residents of the town to evacuate. The decision has since come under intense scrutiny and residents still worry about the potential long-term health effects of the smoke that covered the town.

The N.T.S.B. had previously raised doubts about the need for a vent and burn and at a meeting in East Palestine on Tuesday, the agency said the railway had “misinterpreted and disregarded evidence” in reaching that conclusion.

“Norfolk Southern and its contractors continued to assert the necessity of a vent and burn even though available evidence should have led them to re-evaluate their initial conclusions,” said Paul Stancil, a senior investigator of hazardous materials accidents at the N.T.S.B.

The safety agency’s meeting is taking place ahead of a final report on the accident, which involved a Norfolk Southern train derailing after a wheel bearing overheated. The board of the agency will vote on the findings on Tuesday and plans to release the final report at some point soon.