Investigation remains underway nearly 1 year after devastating East Palestine, Ohio train derailment
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (KDKA) -- Nearly one year after a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio lit up the night sky and spilled toxic chemicals, we still don't have a definitive government explanation of what exactly happened.
KDKA Political Editor Jon Delano recently spoke with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and pressed him on why that is.
The Norfolk Southern train derailment, just 1/4 mile from the Pennsylvania state line, included 20 rail cars with hazardous materials that spilled into land, water, and air.
When asked if we can say why this happened, Buttigieg said that we've learned a lot already, but the National Transportation Safety Board is still doing work on the root causes of the derailment.
"That hasn't stopped us from getting to work right away on measures that can make railroading in America safer," Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg says that by law, the answer as to what went wrong won't come from him, but will come from the NTSB.
"Their independence is something I respect a great deal, but they have already put out some preliminary findings relating to what happened in the wheels," Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg says it's not just track quality that matters, but the train cars themselves, especially train wheels, bearings, and brakes, which the NTSB citied in a preliminary report.
He says he won't criticize the NTSB, saying it's more important to get it right than fast, but he did criticize Congress for failing to pass the bipartisan Railway Safety Act, that was sponsored by senators in Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as local Congressman Chris Deluzio.
"I am disappointed that there hasn't been more action on Capitol Hill," Buttigieg said.
The bill would increase fines against railway companies and includes safety measures like stronger chemical tank cars and required wayside defect detectors along tracks to detect defects and failures in train cars earlier.
When asked about whether or not he's satisfied with Norfolk Southern's efforts to help residents in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Buttigieg said that the railway giant is responsible for cleaning up the mess they made.
"I will tell you who is not responsible - the people who live in and around East Palestine who through no fault of their own had their lives upended," Buttigieg said.
Although Norfolk Southern has done some things, Buttigieg says that we're far from saying that things are complete or satisfied because there is more work to be done to make those communities whole.
As we mark one year since the derailment, Buttigieg has a message for the people affected by the situation.
"My message is that we are going to continue to support these communities to thrive, for the families in them to do well, and make sure they know we have their back," Buttigieg said. "But we're not going to let this incident go without major changes in the railroad industry and in railroad law in this country."
Buttigieg says that the goal is to make sure this never happens again.
