Successive Train Derailments at Norfolk Southern
Firm Opposition to Dictate of Rail Monopolies and Their Backing by U.S. Government
Train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, February 3, 2023.
There have been three train derailments in less than two months at Norfolk Southern, one of the railroad monopolies that have formed an oligopoly controlling all freight rail transportation in the United States.
On February 3, a train carrying
hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, in the U.S. state of Ohio. The
derailment did not result in loss of life or injury, but it did
result in a significant fire and release of hazardous materials
into the air in the small community and surrounding communities,
whose residents say they are still feeling the effects since the
derailment.
On March 4, a train derailed near Springfield, Ohio, and on March 9, a train derailed in Calhoun County, Alabama. According to media reports, these trains were not carrying hazardous materials, which Norfolk Southern used to downplay the repeated derailments that occur in its business.
In addition, on March 7, a Norfolk Southern employee was killed in Cleveland, Ohio, in a collision between a train and a dump truck. This is the third employee killed since late 2021 at Norfolk, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The February 3 Derailment
On February 3, a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, derailed and then exploded and burned in the Ohio community, East Palestine. The train consisted of three locomotives and 149 cars. Thirty-eight cars derailed, including 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited, fuelling fires that damaged 12 other non-derailed cars. The derailment resulted in a fire that lasted several days.
On February 6, to prevent an explosion, state and local officials decided to conduct a controlled burn. Approximately 1.1 million pounds of toxic material -- vinyl chloride -- was diverted to a trench away from the train derailment and burned while firefighters extinguished the flames. Vinyl chloride is a highly toxic product that is carcinogenic. The burning released highly toxic hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air. Some 2,000 residents, about half of the population of East Palestine, were ordered to evacuate their homes.
Local residents were allowed to return to their homes on February 8, but they noted health problems, including headaches and rashes, and are concerned about the persistence of pollutants and possible future complications from exposure to the derailment chemicals. In particular, they say they fear they will end up with cancers within a few years. When they returned, they found many dead fish and frogs in the waterways.
Local activists in East Palestine report that their activism led Norfolk Southern to agree to a limited relocation plan for some residents affected by the train derailment last month. They add that they have no intention of abandoning their demand for justice for the thousands of area residents who are struggling as a result of the accident.
The company's proposal to offer financial assistance to residents who live within a mile of the accident site "is not enough," said River Valley Organizing (RVO), which produced a list of five demands for residents in and around East Palestine.
"We're going to keep pushing until the community gets the help it is owed. We need to stop letting Norfolk Southern put their profits ahead of the people of our community," said RVO.
The community's demands include safe housing and independent environmental testing. For example, the community is asking for the relocation of anyone who wants it at Norfolk Southern's expense, as well as independent testing of soil, water and air, medical testing and monitoring at no cost to residents, and safe disposal of toxic waste, all paid for by Norfolk Southern. The community's demand is to stop putting profit above people.
On March 7, the NTSB announced a special investigation into Norfolk Southern's "safety culture" after the third serious accident in less than two months. The NTSB is a federal agency mandated by Congress with investigating accidents in civil aviation, railroads, highways, and maritime transportation and making recommendations related to transportation safety.
On March 14, the state of Ohio filed a civil lawsuit against
Norfolk Southern Railroad after the derailment in early February
that has raised fears of serious environmental consequences. The
state is seeking damages, civil penalties and a "declaratory
judgment that Norfolk Southern is liable," the state's attorney
general said.
"The Precise Scheduled Railroading"
As for the immediate cause of the
derailment, the NTSB believes it was caused by the failure of a
wheel bearing due to overheating. Two of the hot box detectors
lined up along the track recorded rising temperatures on the
suspect car, but they had not reached the critical threshold
that triggers an alarm for the crew to stop the train. By the
time the alarm was triggered by a sensor near the point where
the train derailed, it was too late and while the crew worked urgently to stop
the train it derailed. Immediate demands have been presented to reduce the
distance between hot box detectors along the track and to
install sensors in the trains to inform the crew of wheel
bearing and axle anomalies before they overheat.
The workers identify much deeper causes for the derailment and put forward demands that such events not be repeated. In particular, they denounce the dangerous dictate of the railroad monopolies in the name of the so-called "Operating Ratio" and "Precision Scheduled Railroading" (PSR).
The official definition of Operating Ratio is the percentage of operating expenses to revenue. Operating expenses include wages and benefits for workers, which are considered a cost to be reduced. The logic given by the financial oligarchy, is that the lower the percentage of expenses to revenue, the better shape the company is in.
The official definition of PSR emphasizes keeping trains moving all the time, combined with keeping cars moving, which are picked up off the road and added to trains, regardless of length, weight, content, and speed of train, in the name of accurate car pickup and delivery schedules. Six of the seven largest freight railroads (called Class 1) have adopted this policy. It's a disaster for train maintenance and for the health and safety of workers and the public.
Here's how one rail worker describes this specific rail operation:
"I assure you, waiting for that call to run a 16,450-foot PSR train is dreadful: We all know what can happen, at any moment. A pall of dread for 12 to 17 or more hours awaits. Already, these trains are not big enough for the carrier. We must pick up more cars for the PSR dream, with a conductor 13,800-feet away, backing up into a rail yard to get more cars."
Train maintenance has been drastically reduced, worker fatigue and health and safety problems have increased. Many rail workers have left the industry because of these untenable conditions while thousands more have been permanently laid off. It is estimated that the major freight carriers employed 30 per cent fewer workers in 2022 compared to 2018.
Such is the obsession with keeping trains and cars moving continuously. Workers from the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, a division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, denounced Norfolk Southern's failure to provide the necessary protective equipment to workers who had to breathe in the toxic fumes caused by the derailment and burning of toxic materials while they were repairing the track.
The anti-labour and anti-community activities of the big railroad monopolies go hand in hand with the self-regulation granted to them by the U.S. government. The government and its agencies make audits, observations, recommendations, and sometimes issue violation notices, but the rail oligopoly made up of the industry's largest monopolies, is considered the ultimate authority on rail operations.
In December 2022, President Joe Biden and Congress signed into law a collective agreement for more than 100,000 rail workers, that had been rejected by the majority of workers. This agreement denies workers' demands for improved conditions that would alleviate their fatigue, prevent them from being constantly on call, and subject to discipline if they do not respond to a call to work when they have had insufficient rest since their last shift. The President and Congress have prohibited these workers from striking for their just demands.
U.S. rail workers are strongly demanding that the so-called Precision Scheduled Railroading system be declared illegal and that a new rail system be established over which the workers who operate it have control. They argue that their working conditions are the conditions of the operation of railroads.
For further information on the imposition of a contract on the U.S. railway workers click here.
(Photos: Gen Z for Change, Fight for 2-person crews, Railway Workers United)
This article was published in
Number 16 - March 27, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10163.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca