Most Americans say tougher regulation could have averted Ohio train derailment: USA TODAY/Ipsos poll

Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY
·2 min read
11

Most Americans believe the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that spilled hazardous waste could have been prevented through stronger safety regulations, according to a recent Ipsos poll.

Fifty-three percent of Americans said the stronger safety regulations would have averted the Norfolk Southern train derailment. That includes 40% of Republicans, 54% of independents and 66% of Democrats, according to the poll's findings.

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The findings come amid political finger-pointing over the accident: Republicans blame the Biden administration for not acting more quickly following the train's derailment to address potential health issues from the toxic release; Democrats blame the Trump administration's rollback of safety rules and cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Train derailment in Ohio
Train derailment in Ohio

However, there is no direct correlation between the derailment and the Trump administration's repeal of rail safety rules because the regulation wouldn't have applied to the train.  

About 50 train cars derailed in northeastern Ohio Feb. 3, near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, which resulted in an chemical fire and sparked a variety of environmental, safety and health concerns following the explosion.

Environmental impacts: East Palestine train derailment killed more than 43,000 fish and animals, officials say

Six percent of those polled said there was nothing that could have kept the derailment from occurring, while 40% said they didn't know whether stronger regulations would have prevented the derailment. One percent refused to answer.

The survey of 1,023 adults, taken Feb. 24-27 through the Ipsos online panel, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points for the overall sample, 6.2 points for the subsamples of Republicans and Democrats.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: East Palestine train derailment could have been avoided, poll finds