A Call for Dependable Hazmat Transportation
By Bailey Martin
Published April 3, 2023
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The train cars contained 1.6 million pounds of hazardous chemicals like butyl acrylate, isobutylene, and vinyl chloride.[1] Following the crash, the federal government dispatched several EPA, DHS, and CDC staff members to East Palestine to support with safety and medical concerns.[2] Eighteen days after the derailment, the EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up resulting contamination and pay all the costs of cleaning private homes and businesses pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).[3] If the company fails to comply with the order, the EPA can fine Norfolk Southern $70,000 per day.[4] The Ohio derailment has brought the inadequacy of the United States hazardous material transportation regulations to the fore — Congress needs to act on this to ensure that more communities are not contaminated.
All Americans can agree that railroads need to be held accountable when failing to transport hazardous materials safely across the country. The Derail Act, proposed by Congressmen Chris Deluzio and Ro Khanna, is one potential solution.[5] This legislation would impose new railroad regulations such as new rail cars, improved braking equipment, and stricter speed limits.[6] The Act suggests that rail carriers should be required to report to the National Response Center within 24 hours following a derailment, but this time frame should be much shorter. This could work in conjunction with Pete Buttigieg’s suggestion that freight rail companies provide ample notice to state emergency response officials when hazardous materials would be traveling through their states.[7] This sort of transparency and communication should be a priority, and one that is achievable with modern technology and financial resources that the government has.
The release of hazardous chemicals from the train wasn’t the only problem involved in the Ohio disaster. The cleanup and disaster response in Ohio resulted in contaminated water and contaminated soil from firefighting procedures. These two materials are being trucked outside of Ohio to treatment facilities in Texas, Michigan, and Indiana.[8] The United States needs to designate new facilities in places where derailment is likely to occur to avoid further transportation of hazardous chemicals.
Many East Palestine residents are seeking independent air and water tests inside and around their businesses and private homes due to the unsatisfactory work by “government and private environmental experts” who have failed to detect dangerous levels of chemicals in the air or water despite overwhelming and unpleasant odors.[9] Residents are paying out-of-pocket for their own tests that often do not pick up trace amounts of volatile compounds. Regardless, due to the increased demand following the explosion, many people who rely on wells for their domestic water supply will find it difficult to get testing quickly. The distrust residents have for government testing needs to be eliminated; federal agencies responsible for testing need to provide more efficient and comprehensive examinations, and they need to increase transparency.
Norfolk Southern recently lobbied Department of Transportation against safety standards. At the same time, Norfolk Southern reported a rise in accidents over the past few years.[10] Additionally, Congress set a deadline of 2029 to replace all old rail tank cars with “stronger models.”[11] These situations reveal the inadequacy of the current hazmat transportation procedures in the United States. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has previously advocated for expanding the definition of “high-hazard flammable train[s],” a standard not met by the derailed train in East Palestine.[12] By expanding this definition, rail companies will be deterred from providing incompetent hazmat transportation.
Unfortunately, the environmental damage that took place in East Palestine will persist for decades. While residents and authorities are concerned for the current state of water and so forth, reports show that residents will likely suffer from a multitude of health issues such as nausea, headaches, eye and throat irritation, skin rashes, and respiratory problems.[13]
About a week after the Ohio derailment, a truck carrying nitric acid crashed on I-10 outside of Tucson and released toxic chemicals into the air. Arizona responded by shutting down the interstate to allow hazmat professionals to clean up the crash; the state also forced evacuations of several neighborhoods surrounding the crash.[14] Trucks often carry more hazardous materials and cause more fatalities and property damage due to highways being in urban areas.[15] This incident further emphasizes the need for stricter compliance of safe hazmat transportation regulations.
As is apparent by subsequent disasters, current hazardous chemical transportation regulations are tenuous at best. Residents of marginalized communities surrounding railways will continue to be at risk of derailments until Congress enacts new regulations that ensure safe and reliable hazmat transportation.
ENDNOTES
[1] Becky Sullivan, Here’s why it’s hard to clean up toxic waste from the East Palestine train derailment, npr (Mar. 3, 2023), https://www.npr.org/2023/03/03/1160481769/east-palestine-derailment-toxic-waste-cleanup.
[2] Emily Cochrane, Many in East Palestine, Skeptical of Official Tests, Seek Out Their Own, The New York Times (Feb. 21, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/19/us/politics/east-palestine-toxic-chemicals-epa.html.
[3] Campbell Robertson, E.P.A. Orders Operator of Derailed Train to Pay All Cleanup Costs, The New York Times (Feb. 21, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/us/ohio-epa-cleanup-norfolk-southern.html.
[4] Aya Elamroussi & Alisha Ebrahimji, A first report on the Ohio toxic train wreck was released. Here’s what it found—and what investigators are still looking into, CNN (Feb. 25, 2023), https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/24/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-friday/index.html.
[5] Chris Deluzio & Ro Khanna, After the East Palestine disaster, Congress needs to pass the Derail Act, The Guardian (Mar. 3, 2023), https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/03/ohio-toxic-trail-derailment-east-palestine-congress-derail-act.
[6] Id.
[7] Campbell Robertson, supra note 3.
[8] Becky Sullivan, supra note 1.
[9] Emily Cochrane, supra note 2.
[10] Campbell Robertson, supra note 3.
[11] Id.
[12] Aya Elamroussi & Alisha Ebrahimji, supra note 4.
[13] Reid Frazier, At East Palestine train derailment site, Norfolk Southern under investigation by OSHA after workers report health problems, State Impact Pennsylvania (Mar. 9, 2023), https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2023/03/09/at-east-palestine-train-derailment-site-norfolk-southern-under-investigation-by-osha-after-workers-report-health-problems/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20have%20members%20experiencing%20nausea,the%20scene%20after%20the%20derailment.
[14] The Associated Press, A hazardous spill in Arizona closes down an interstate and forces an evacuation, npr (Feb. 15, 2023), https://www.npr.org/2023/02/15/1157174863/tucson-hazardous-chemical-spill-evacuation-arizona.
[15] Michael Gorman, Truck crashes involving hazardous chemicals are more frequent, even as train derailments capture headlines, PBS News Hour (Feb. 21, 2023), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/truck-crashes-involving-hazardous-chemicals-are-more-frequent-even-as-train-derailments-capture-headlines.
PHOTO CREDIT: New York Times