Cleanup underway after chemical train derails in East Palestine, Ohio Tannen Morley/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
According to a preliminary report by a federal safety investigator, a freight train derailment in eastern Ohio involved overheated wheel bearings without first triggering alert thresholds set in railroad fault detectors. failure was included.
A Norfolk Southern Railway train passed three wayside detectors before derailing, releasing toxic chemicals from multiple cars. Two of the three detectors recorded temperature rises in overheated wheel bearings, but only his third detector, located in East Palestine, Ohio, alerted train crews. We recorded temperatures sufficient for Norfolk Southern has not yet publicly responded to the report’s findings.
Russell Quimby, a former investigator for the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said, “Norfolk Southern should revisit its heading criteria to include the rate of temperature rise between readings.”
In the privatized US freight rail system, freight rail companies set their own temperature thresholds for wayside detectors, also known as hot box detectors. The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration, which creates and enforces U.S. railroad safety regulations, does not currently set standards for such detectors.
“Surprisingly, they are not mandated or regulated in any way,” says Jared Cassity, director of transportation for the International Association of Sheet Metal, Aviation, Rail and Transport Workers.
Cassity also expressed concern over the fact that the temperature rose by 65°F (36°C) between the first and second wayside detectors, but no warning or information was sent to the train crew. .
Only a third detector, located near the derailment site in East Palestine, sent an alert to train crews after registering temperatures more than 253°F (122°C) above ambient.
Norfolk Southern typically requires train crews to stop and inspect warm wheel bearings when temperatures are between 170 and 200°F (76 and 93°C). Rail cars with wheel bearing temperatures above that threshold are to be separated from the train and removed to rail sidings branching off the main line.
“I think it got about 30 miles before it broke down, which was enough time to pull the car off the road,” says Quimby. “Bearings that heat up slowly like this bearing usually don’t cool down.”
After being alerted by the detector, the train’s engineer increased application of the dynamic braking system, which uses the train’s motor as a generator to slow the train and dissipate the mechanical energy as heat. The automatic braking system also activated the train’s main air brakes. This can be triggered when a derailment cuts the air brake hose between cars.
The freight train was traveling at about 47 mph (76 km/h) when it derailed.
The industry group, the American Railroad Association, said in a prepared statement, “As an industry, railroads will use this first report to form a thoughtful and fact-based approach to prevent similar accidents elsewhere.” We plan to prevent it before it happens.”
However, railroad unions have expressed safety concerns about the major U.S. freight railroad companies implementing precisely planned railroad strategies and putting pressure on crews to conduct train inspections more quickly. expressing concern. Cassity explains that he has reduced the inspection time for railcars from 3-4 minutes to about 30-60 seconds per car.
At a press conference on February 23, Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the failed wheel bearing was on a rail car loaded with plastic pellets. A hot axle connected to the wheel bearings combined with plastic pellets to cause the first fire associated with the derailment.
Such wheel bearings can fail for a variety of reasons, including fatigue cracks, water or mechanical damage, loose bearings, or defective wheels. Federal investigators are still investigating possible causes.
“The roller bearings are failing,” says Homendy. “But it’s absolutely critical to identify and address problems early so they don’t run to failure.”
The investigation found no operational problems with the trackside detectors. But Hommendy said federal investigators will investigate how Norfolk Southern uses and deploys detectors along its tracks and how train crews receive alerts from them.
She also highlighted the many different detector standards between railroad companies and the lack of federal regulation for detectors. I’m here. “We will consider whether that should change.”
Before issuing the final report, the National Transportation Safety Board plans to hold a “rare” field hearing in Eastern Palestine this spring. That process involves talking to the public, gathering facts from eyewitnesses, discussing possible solutions, and reaching consensus.
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