Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says Congress needs to "take a look" into East Palestine derailment of train carrying chemicals

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday said Congress must act following the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio — in which 38 rail cars derailed, including 11 which contained hazardous materials — and hundreds of nearby residents were forced to evacuate for several days. 

At a news conference, DeWine told reporters he was informed that the train was not considered a "high hazardous material train," so the state was not notified, prior to its derailment, that it was passing through. 

"Frankly, if this is true, this is absurd and we need to look at this," DeWine said. "Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled. We should know when we have trains carrying hazardous materials that are going through the state of Ohio."

DeWine addressed concerns about harmful chemicals remaining in the air, and said that following a controlled release of chemicals, members of the Ohio National Guard were sent into the area in protective suits to measure the air, and no one was allowed back into the area until it was deemed safe. 

"In fact the monitoring showed that the air was basically what it was prior to the actual train crash," he said. 

Despite no threat to human life, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said that the derailment killed an estimated 3,500 fish of 12 varying species, none of which are threatened or endangered. 

DeWine said that he shared concerns from residents to Norfolk Southern's CEO, Alan H. Shaw, and asked if he could personally guarantee that the railroad staff will stay on scene until absolutely everything is cleaned up.

"He gave me his word and his commitment that the railroad would do that," DeWine said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that along with the 38 cars that derailed, another 12 cars were damaged by a fire. 

Officials had evacuated residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border so they could release chemicals from some of the derailed cars for a controlled burn following the accident, sending black smoke skyward as crews released vinyl chloride, a gas used to make plastic. Authorities said this week other hazardous materials were also on the train.

A video released earlier this week captured by a security camera about 20 miles from where the train derailed appears to show sparks and flames beneath a train car.