The company sought to dismiss the agency’s findings regarding the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment and controlled burn of toxic chemicals.
This week, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy made an emphatic statement at the board’s hearing on Norfolk Southern’s 2023 freight train crash in East Palestine, Ohio. This is the first in a series of hearings the NTSB will hold since the agency has concluded its formal investigation into the crash.
The NTSB investigations found that Norfolk Southern unnecessarily conducted a controlled burn to clean up the gallons of toxic chemicals spilled during the crash. The NTSB documented this in its investigation, concluding that this not only endangered the lives of residents but may have also been an attempt to meddle with train parts that could have been used as additional evidence.
Chair Homendy said that a senior Norfolk Southern executive urged the NTSB, in the month leading up to the hearing, to “put to rest the ‘rumor’ that Norfolk Southern made the decision to vent and burn to move trains.” She said that the exchange with the rail company official was “unethical and inappropriate” and that the official had concluded the discussion with a threat.
Chair Homendy added that Norfolk Southern hired a private company to conduct its own chemical tests, attempting to submit these separate findings as evidence for the NTSB investigation. Parties “are not permitted to manufacture their own evidence and develop their own set of facts outside of the NTSB investigative process, which is exactly what Norfolk Southern did,” the NTSB chair said.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For discernment for Chair Homendy and members of the NTSB as they seek to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for decisions and actions in the aftermath of the train derailment.
- For God’s healing for the people of East Palestine, Ohio, and wisdom for governing officials as they continue to remediate the pollution from the burn of the chemicals.
Sources: Reuters. AP News
