Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) called on Congress Tuesday to change requirements for hazardous trains, saying that the state was not notified about the dangerous chemicals carried by the train that derailed in East Palestine earlier this month.
DeWine said at a press conference he had been told that the Norfolk Southern train was not considered a “high hazardous material” train and was, therefore, not required to notify the state about what materials it was carrying when it derailed on Feb. 3.
OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT PRELIMINARY SAFETY REPORT TO BE RELEASED TWO WEEKS AFTER CRASH
“Frankly, if this is true, and I’m told it’s true, this is absurd,” DeWine said.
Ten of the 50 cars that derailed near the state’s eastern border contained hazardous chemicals — among them vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, and other combustible liquids.
DeWine said Tuesday that the state faced “two bad options” when deciding whether or not to order the controlled release.
“One option was to do nothing and wait for the car to explode,” DeWine said. He said an explosion was described as highly probable.
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That explosion would have been “catastrophic,” DeWine said, adding that he was told it would have resulted in shrapnel shooting out from the site and reaching as far as a mile from the derailment.
The Ohio Department of Transportation is conducting an investigation into the train derailment, and the City of East Palestine has scheduled an emergency council meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 15, to respond to the growing number of residents’ concerns over the incident.
