The National Transportation Safety Board continues to examine a February East Palestine train derailment with an investigative hearing today and tomorrow in the Northeast Ohio town.
The hearing, part of NTSB’s ongoing investigation on the derailment’s events in East Palestine, will gather witness testimony regarding the emergency response to the derailment, bearing failure modes, tank car damage, the events that led to a controlled release of vinyl chloride and more.
“The communities most affected by this tragedy deserve as much insight as possible into our investigation, which is why we’re holding an investigative hearing in East Palestine,” says NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy in a news release. “While we, unfortunately, cannot change what happened that day, our entire agency is committed to carrying out our mission, which doesn’t end when we get to the bottom of what happened and why it happened—we’ll also work vigorously to prevent it from ever happening again.”
The full investigation won’t be completed until February 2024, or later — more than a year after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment, chemical spill and fire shook East Palestine. The incident left many questions and concerns for residents of the small Northeast Ohio village and its surrounding towns.
These communities, since February, have grappled with an onslaught of health and economic concerns, along with intense media and political presence in their neighborhoods.
The derailment and its complicated aftermath are the focus of Cleveland Magazine’s July cover story, which follows the experiences of East Palestine residents, business owners and neighbors in the months after the event.
Today, tune in to the hearings — held at East Palestine High School from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 22 and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 23 — on two NTSB YouTube streams. Watch live below, and also read our July cover story, The Nightmare in East Palestine.
Thursday, June 22:
Friday, June 23:
