The National Transportation Safety Board spent two days on a fact-finding mission into the Feb. 3 derailment.
According to data and witness testimony presented to the board, the feared chemical reaction inside the rail cars probably wasn’t happening.
The first local official to receive information about the derailed train’s contents got it more than an hour after the train derailed at 8:54 p.m. Others, including the incident commander, didn’t get it until almost 2:30 a.m., when he happened upon a list sitting on a desk. Railcars are also required to have placards with codes corresponding to the chemicals they contain. But investigators say some placards burned in the fire.
Trains can also be kept outside of a railyard, in which case a full inspection is not required. Transportation Communications Union national representative Jason Cox said during the hearing “that can be used to skate the regulation.” NTSB has previously pointed to an overheating wheel bearing as the cause of the fire and derailment. Railroads have argued that in the case of faulty wheel bearings, detector technology along the tracks is better than human inspectors, who can’t see inside the wheel.The freight rail industry decides many aspects of its operations through consensus achieved via its powerful trade group, the Association of American Railroads.
Inspections are one area the NTSB is probing for potential recommendations. Though the independent board has no power to issue regulations, it can make recommendations to lawmakers and regulators — and those recommendations have significant weight. Homendy, the chair, said that about 80 percent of the board’s recommendations are voluntarily adopted.
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