Corrected Feb. 24 | The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Thursday on its investigation of the Feb. 3 train wreck in Ohio, providing no firm conclusions about the cause of the accident but listing a number of factors that may have contributed, including overheated wheel bearings.
The report comes nearly three weeks after the 149-car Norfolk Southern train carrying 20 carloads of hazardous materials derailed and caught fire, spewing chemicals like highly toxic vinyl chloride into the area around East Palestine, Ohio, and forcing an evacuation of many of the town’s 4,700 residents.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured the accident site Thursday morning and spoke with reporters afterward. Buttigieg and the Biden administration have been criticized for a slow response to the disaster, with many in the community expressing alarm about potential health problems from the chemical exposures in air, soil and water.
Buttigieg underscored that DOT, EPA and other federal responders have been present since the “early hours” of the accident and added that DOT will not wait until a final NTSB report to “do everything we can to raise the bar on rail safety and to hold people accountable.”
“That’s the other part of my visit here is to make sure that we can assess how to drive the best safety improvements across our national transportation system,” he said. “Any national political figure who has decided to get involved in the plight of East Palestine, I have a simple message, which is, I need your help.”
