Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has attributed some of the responsibility for the recent train derailment in Ohio, which was transporting toxic chemicals, to the Trump administrations decision to rescind a not-widely-known safety regulation.
On Tuesday night, Buttigieg declared that his department had taken numerous steps to upgrade railroad security with "historic investments," but noted that their efforts were hindered by the Trump administration's decision. In 2018, the Department of Transportation (DOT) rescinded a regulation that had been proposed three years prior that would have mandated electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes for trains carrying certain hazardous chemicals, saying that the technology's advantages were not confirmed.
In a Tweet, Buttigieg wrote: "In the wake of the East Palestine derailment and its impact on hundreds of residents, were seeing lots of newfound or renewed (and welcome) interest in our work on rail safety, so I wanted to share more about what weve been doing in this area.
"Were constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe," Buttigieg continued. "And of course, Im always ready to work with Congress on furthering (or in some cases, restoring) our capacity to address rail safety issues."
On February 3, a Norfolk Southern Railroad train carrying vinyl chloride, a hazardous odorless gas, derailed in Columbiana County, Ohio, situated along the Ohio-Pennsylvania frontier.
In an effort to stave off a potential explosion, Norfolk Southern elected to vent the gas from the derailed cars, which could have dispersed deadly fumes into the air. Those in the vicinity were asked to evacuate, but given the okay to come back on February 9.
The Environmental Protection Agency, Norfolk Southern, and Ohio authorities have conducted air quality testing in the eastern Ohio region and reported that the readings indicated the air is safe to breathe. However, members of the community as well as specialists are claiming that it is risky to come back.
Sil Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist from the area, spoke to Fox News on Tuesday, stating, "The railroad company is responsible for this and for these people who went back to their homes. Their homes should have been tested. Their homes should have been cleaned. From the onset, these people were being marginalized in an effort to mitigate this."
"This really looks like a nuclear winter," Caggiano added. "Pretty much, yeah, we nuked this town with chemicals."
Amid criticism, Pete Buttigieg was delayed in his response to the derailment, taking 10 days to make a statement stating to "use all relevant authorities to ensure accountability and continue to support safety."
After the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act was passed in December 2015 and was approved by former President Barack Obama, the Trump administration made the rule change that Buttigieg partly attributed to.
A spokesman for the DOT expressed to Fox News Digital, "When [the National Transportation Safety Board] completes its investigation of the cause of the derailment, which is still being investigated, [the Federal Railroad Administration] and [the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration] will look to the investigation results and use all relevant authorities to ensure accountability and improve safety."
The statement added, "On the rule, in 2015, Republicans in the House and Senate required a cost-benefit analysis that allowed for the Trump administration to repeal the rule in 2017 and now makes it challenging to reinstate the rule in its previous configuration due to threats of litigation and opposition in Congress."
"After the 2015 rule was issued, the rule including the RIA was challenged in 5 different Federal Circuits, and Congress quickly moved to vitiate the rule, making it more difficult under the Administrative Procedure Act to revisit the basis for advancing a rule. However, pending the results of the investigation into the derailment, FRA and PHMSA will evaluate action to prevent this from happening again."
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