Federal transportation officials released a preliminary report Thursday examining the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying dangerous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.
The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board did not offer an exact cause of the derailment but outlined several operational concerns.
According to the NTSB report, “Surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. The wheel bearing and affected wheelset have been collected as evidence and will be examined by the NTSB.”
Future investigative activity will focus on the wheelset and bearing, tank car design and maintenance procedures, derailment damage, inspection practices and a review of the accident response.
On Feb. 3 at around 9 p.m., an eastbound Norfolk Southern freight train derailed, including 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited. These chemicals included vinyl chloride, a highly flammable carcinogen. Thirty-eight railcars derailed in the incident, according to the NTSB report.
Due to the possibility of a catastrophic explosion that could have sent shrapnel up to a mile, Norfolk Southern carried out a controlled release three days later.
The Thursday report comes the same day that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the site.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy and Director of the NTSB’s Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Robert J. Hall will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon at the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.