Ohio governor calls on US Congress to investigate hazmat train derailment

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, US (AA) - The governor of Ohio called Tuesday for the US Congress to investigate a train derailment that caused a hazmat evacuation in the village of East Palestine.

Gov. Mike DeWine said at a news conference that the train was not considered a "high hazardous material train," so the state was not notified that it was passing through.

"Frankly, if this is true, this is absurd, and we need to look at this," DeWine said. "Congress needs to take a look at how these things are handled. We should know when we have trains carrying hazardous materials that are going through the state of Ohio."

The train derailment happened on Feb. 3 in which 38 cars derailed, including 11 containing hazardous materials, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate for several days.

DeWine stressed his concerns about harmful chemicals remaining in the air after a controlled burn of the hazardous materials from the derailed cars, including vinyl chloride, which is a gas used to make plastic.

The hazmat release sent plumes of black smoke into the air and was overseen by members of the Ohio National Guard, who were sent into the area in protective suits to evaluate the environment. No one was allowed back to their homes until the air quality was deemed safe.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the derailment and is reviewing several videos from security cameras in the area.

One video shows "what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment," the agency said in a statement. "The suspected overheated wheel bearing has been collected and will be examined by engineers from the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C."

Other videos collected by the NTSB show glowing or flames from the train prior to the derailment, with one showing sparks and flames beneath a train car.

It could take several months before investigators determine the cause of the derailment.

The agency is also reviewing recording data from the train’s so-called "black boxes," including an event recorder and image recorders.