On Tuesday, I woke up early, packed enough food for the day and made the 90-minute trip east to East Palestine for the first time in months. I had hope that, finally, there would be some concrete answers on the fiery train derailment there last year.
I've made that drive many times, covering the train derailment and the vent and burn of toxic chemicals that caused a huge mushroom cloud we've all seen on our social media feeds and television screens. I've returned to report on the impact of the tragedy on residents and rail safety.
Tuesday's trip was to get some answers. That morning, the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. government investigative agency tasked with looking into the derailment, scheduled a session in East Palestine to release its findings, the probable cause of the derailment and recommendations to prevent future accidents.
We've long had a pretty good sense of what went wrong that night in February 2023. The NTSB released its preliminary report about three weeks after the derailment that found a severely overheated wheel bearing to be the likely cause of the accident. Nothing at that Tuesday board meeting would change any outcome of the derailment, nor make a significant impact on the lives of the residents who had to live through it. But there was hope that it could bring a little bit of closure to a horrible chapter in many people's lives and maybe prevent a future tragedy like this.
What many people would find incredibly boring — long and complex explanations of rail safety, intricate government oversight, lots of red tape and minutiae — I find incredibly fascinating. And to give credit where credit is due, the NTSB went above and beyond to make this meeting — exhaustively long though it was — accessible to East Palestine residents. They held the meeting in East Palestine and opened it to the public so they could see the ins and outs of what government oversight looks like. Chair Jennifer Homendy, who is adored by many in East Palestine who see her as a defender holding the railroad accountable, stopped the meeting at several points to explain complex rail jargon in layman's terms or dig down on the importance of a certain aspect of the board's investigation.
What the board presented on Tuesday was the most concrete and detailed explanation I have ever seen of what went wrong that day and in the aftermath. Not only did the board drill down on why the train derailed, it also explained why the train caught fire, how first responders were inadequately prepared for such an accident, why the decision to vent and burn was unnecessary and how Norfolk Southern tried to thwart the investigation many times.
I talked to East Palestine residents and I know many parts of the meeting were painful for them to hear, especially the details about the purposeful burn of toxic chemicals souring the air around them. I hope they can find something positive among the sea of answers the NTSB provided on Tuesday. And if nothing else, I hope they know they're not alone.
NTSB staff members pride themselves on continuing to advocate for safety measures even decades after its recommendations are made. The plight of residents, and their advocacy on health and environmental concerns, has not gone unnoticed. I heard from dozens of people across the state and country waiting anxiously during the meeting for answers.
This chapter is closed, but the story of East Palestine is far from over.
