After Ohio train derailment, what can we do to prevent future events?

On February 3, a railroad accident took place in the town of East Palestine, Ohio. Thirty-eight cars derailed on a train traveling from Madison, Illinois to Conway, Pennsylvania. Some of the cars that derailed were carrying vinyl chloride, a volatile carcinogen. Faced with the possibility of an uncontrolled explosion, shrapnel from exploding cars, and seepage of chemicals into the water, the governor, Mike DeWine, authorized a controlled burn. The resulting conflagration was visible many miles away. Both the liquid and the solid contaminated waste will stay in Ohio and be treated at various sites.

Environmental officials said that air quality in East Palestine was normal. Yet, people continue to report respiratory problems and a general feeling of malaise.

The EPA is continuing to provide updates concerning home re-entry screenings and air quality from 15 stations around the town.

Many people live near rail lines, including here in St. Cloud. Many lines sweep through pretty countryside with rivers and fields. The damage done to the land around East Palestine is difficult. But even more tragic is the possibility that cancer rates will increase in the town in the future. Rivers in the area may be contaminated for years, with fish unable to live in the polluted water.

There are many people now pointing fingers. The workers on many railways were recently stopped by law from striking. They point to longer hours and longer trains, less staff and less safety, as the rail companies try to squeeze more profits out of the system. The time required to inspect a rail car was halved recently to 90 seconds.

While making efforts to compensate the town’s citizens for having to temporarily vacate their homes, there has been criticism of the company’s willingness to talk with them about their response. Not a single executive from Norfolk Southern showed up. Politicians have taken turns using the town as a platform for expressing their views and criticizing their opponents.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is promoting rail reform. Some of his proposals have found favor with rail union advocates. One such idea would be a new rule requiring at least 2 conductors on every train. This would make goods that travel by rail more expensive, of course, and squeeze rail company profits. Some of that would eventually pass back to farmers in higher costs of sending their goods to market.

Governor Mike DeWine, meanwhile, has not requested federal help with the cleanup, insisting instead that Norfolk Southern tear up all the track at the crash site and decontaminate the land underneath. Even though the company is paying local residents, both he and nearby Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro are threatening lawsuits.

The EPA is imposing other costs on the company. OSHA has taken over the investigation. Mechanical failure (a faulty bearing) is believed to have caused the explosion of several cars.

Rather than seeing who can blame the company the most, I worry about the next possible accident. We were influenced the last couple of years by supply chain issues, which railways (along with ports and truckers) were asked to solve. As a result these companies, including Norfolk Southern, saw substantial increases in revenues and profits. Pressure to unsnarl supply chains may have caused the firm to cut corners and keep workers working longer hours and not necessarily firing poorly performing workers.

Such pressures may have caused us to ignore railroad workers’ concerns. It is clearly time to have them heard now and address the problems that have cropped up. After two years of such extraordinary pressure on transportation systems, can we be sure another accident won’t happen?

This is the opinion of Times Writers Group member Barbara Banaian, a professional pianist who lives in the St. Cloud area. Her column is published the first Sunday of the month.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: After Ohio train derailment, what can we do to prevent future events?