The Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which caused no deaths, has sparked a national conversation over rail safety — particularly as profits soar at major rail carriers.
One sticking point has been the use of the wayside hot-box detectors. These are used to detect the temperature of wheel bearings on passing rail cars. There were about 6,000 of these detectors placed along U.S. rail tracks as of 2015, according to a study by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
The National Transportation Safety Board has pinpointed an overheated bearing as a critical contributor to last month’s accident. The train passed three hot-box detectors in the span of 30 miles before it derailed in East Palestine, according to the NTSB. Only one detector, right outside the Ohio village, recorded a “critical” high temperature. By the time the crew was alerted, it was too late to prevent an accident.
As a result of the derailment and ensuing toxic fire, East Palestine residents were forced to evacuate. The Environmental Protection Agency continues to sample the air and water in the impacted area. It stated on March 2 that testing suggests a “low probability” of release of the chemical dioxin, a known carcinogen that results from burning industrial products.
In a Feb. 23 news conference, the NTSB’s head told reporters that she believed that the derailment may have been avoided had these detectors been placed closer together, which would mean increasing the overall number of detectors on U.S. rails.
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