Shapiro criticizes Norfolk Southern’s emergency response to Ohio train derailment

Gov. Josh Shapiro condemned train company Norfolk Southern in a letter this week, alleging the company failed to immediately contact the state after a train derailment near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border on Feb. 3.

Shapiro said his office plans to take direct action against the company, and added the state legislature has interest in reviewing the derailment for potential action as well.

A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed just miles from the Pennsylvania border near East Palestine, Ohio, causing a fire that burned for three days.

Norfolk Southern then conducted a controlled burn of five tanks of vinyl chloride to avoid a potential explosion. The controlled burn led to a dark plume over East Palestine and its surroundings as phosgene and hydrogen chloride were released into the air.

Both Ohio and Pennsylvania residents that live close to the site were evacuated for several days. Residents shared concerns about air and water quality and reported foul odors and the deaths of some animals. No deaths or injuries to humans have been reported.

In a statement, Norfolk Southern said its officials have called Shapiro to address some of his concerns and said they look forward to discussing the incident further.

Norfolk Southern said that it was on-scene immediately following the derailment and began working directly with local, state, and federal officials, including Pennsylvania officials, as they arrived at the unified command established in East Palestine.

“We remain at the command post today working alongside those agencies to keep information flowing from our teams working at the site,” the company said in a statement.

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But Shapiro said Norfolk Southern provided limited and inaccurate information about the derailment aftermath that made it difficult for local and state officials to respond.

He said Pennsylvania officials learned of the derailment independently in the first few hours after it occurred.

He was particularly critical of information provided about the controlled explosion on Feb. 6. He said the company didn’t forewarn agencies initially of their intention to vent and burn all five rail cars that contained vinyl chloride, or inform local and state authorities how many rail cars contributed the hazardous chemical.

“While I appreciate that responding to train derailments presents an array of complex challenges, failure to adhere to well-accepted standards of practice related to incident management and prioritizing an accelerated and arbitrary timely to reopen the rail line injected unnecessary risk and created confusion in the process,” wrote Shapiro.

The letter comes at the same time that Beaver County residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern alleging that the derailment and controlled burn could have an adverse effect on the health of thousands of Western Pennsylvanians.

Shapiro acknowledged that federal agencies are largely in charge of the railroad industry, but said he has ordered the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to review Norfolk Southern’s conduct. He said he supports any action taken by the state legislature to “help them facilitate holding (Norfolk Southern) accountable.”

He said he spoke directly with President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttiegieg about the matter as well.