NTSB: VCM burnoff in Ohio derailment unnecessary

East Palestine, Ohio — The vinyl chloride monomer burnoff that led to an evacuation in East Palestine after a train derailment in early 2023 was unnecessary, according to a report and testimony from the National Transportation Safety Board.

A final meeting on the NTSB investigation of the Feb. 3, 2023 incident took place June 26 at East Palestine High School. At the meeting, investigators said the Investigators said the joint decision by the local incident commander, the railroad and railroad contractors to conduct a vent and burn of the contents of the tank cars carrying VCM — a PVC feedstock — was based on incomplete and misleading information from Norfolk Southern. 

As a result, the vent and burnoff wasn't necessary to prevent a tank car failure, according to NTSB investigators. The burnoff led to clouds of black smoke that could be seen for miles.

At the meeting, NTSB investigator Paul Stancil provided most of the testimony about the decision to burn off the VCM. He said Oxy Vinyls, the petrochemicals firm that had made the VCM being transported, "had no direct contact with the incident commander."

"There was a misunderstanding or confusion between Oxy Vinyls and Norfolk Southern and [NS] contractors," Stancil said. "The data [from Oxy] was not indicative of [VCM] polymerization."

The belief that the VCM was polymerizing and could have caused an explosion was a major factor in officials' decision to proceed with the burnoff on Feb. 6, three days after the derailment. NTSB investigators said June 25 that there was a low probability of polymerization, based on the data that Oxy Vinyls provided at the time of the derailment.

Investigators added that, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, a vent and burn procedure should be a last resort, used when a tank car is about to fail. They added that NS rejected three other removal methods and began planning for a vent and burn shortly after the derailment.

NTSB said at the meeting that a rail car's defective wheel bearing caused the derailment and subsequent hazardous material release, Investigators said that the derailment occurred when a bearing on a hopper car failed and overheated.

Investigators also voiced concerns about the ongoing use of DOT-111 tank cars. The cars have had numerous safety issues when transporting flammable liquids and other hazardous materials and are being phased out by 2029.

Investigators pointed to worries about the lack of training given by Ohio to volunteer fire departments in communities where hazardous materials are being transported. The system meant to inform rail officials of an overheated wheel bearing also didn't work properly. In addition, local officials weren't able to access information about the contents of the train until at least an hour after the derailment.

At the start of the meeting, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said that "unfortunately, some have sought to minimize the wide-ranging impacts of this derailment, pointing to the fact that there were no fatalities or injuries."

"For this, we are certainly grateful, but the absence of a fatality or injury doesn't mean the presence of safety," she added. "Our agency doesn't wait for death or injury to occur. Instead, we objectively analyze the facts and evidence to make recommendations that, if implemented, will ensure this never happens again. Thanks to the hard work of our world-class investigators, we now have a road map to do just that."

As a result of the investigation, NTSB issued new safety recommendations to the state of Ohio, the Chlorine Institute, Norfolk Southern, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the American Chemistry Council, Oxy Vinyls and several other agencies and trade organizations.

NS already has agreed to $910 million in total settlements to a class action lawsuit filed by residents and to the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Interior to resolve all claims and investigations from the derailment.

Even after the settlement, some area residents are doubtful that amount will cover current and future health care needs related to the accident. Jami Wallace, a lifelong East Palestine resident, said in an email to Plastics News that "no amount can ever make this right, but it should be at least enough to hurt [NS] a little bit."

Wallace, president of the Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment, said area residents still don't have access to a toxicologist more than a year after the accident, even though some local children are still having nose bleeds, seizures and other illnesses.

Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued a joint statement to express their concern that the settlement "could severely undercompensate the residents of East Palestine."

Federal officials said that together with other response costs and rail safety enhancements, NS estimates that it will spend more than $1 billion to address contamination and other harms caused by the derailment and to improve rail safety and operations.

According to NTSB's official account of the accident, part of an eastbound Norfolk Southern train derailed on its main track in East Palestine. Eleven derailed tank cars carrying hazardous materials soon ignited, fueling fires that damaged another 12 rail cars that did not derail. First responders implemented a 1-mile evacuation zone surrounding the derailment site that affected up to 2,000 residents.

Ongoing air, water and soil testing in the East Palestine area have shown that the area is safe, with no dangerous levels of chemicals present. NS has removed at least 400 million pounds of solid waste and more than 46 million gallons of wastewater from the area.

In July 2023, NS filed a complaint against Oxy Vinyls, Dow Inc. and the owners of other chemicals involved in the accident. In the complaint, NS wanted those firms and other chemical shippers to pay for the cost of the cleanup.

Oxy Vinyls spokeswoman Celina Cardenas said at the time that the NS lawsuit "is a meritless disinformation campaign masquerading as a legal filing." Oxy Vinyls could not be reached for further comment.

In a June 26 statement, NS officials wrote: “At all times, Norfolk Southern cooperated fully and ethically with the investigation, and with full transparency. Our communications with NTSB staff and board members was always motivated by a desire that they had all relevant information for their independent evaluation and by a shared commitment to advance rail safety.”