Derailment update: NTSB examines tank car parts; CSX, NS join FRA close-call reporting system

The National Transportation Safety Board is looking at aluminum protective housing covers used on three of the vinyl chloride tank cars of the Norfolk Southern Railway train that derailed Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio.

On Feb. 22, NTSB investigators completed damage assessment inspections of the 11 hazardous materials tank cars, including the five carrying vinyl chloride, that derailed. The tank car wreckage was released to NS on Feb. 24.

The five derailed cars carrying vinyl chloride were DOT-105J300W tank cars. Based on damage assessment inspections of these cars, the NTSB is concerned that aluminum protective housing covers on some tank cars melted or were consumed when pressure relief devices (PRDs) vented burning gas while functioning as designed to relieve tank pressure, NTSB officials said in a press release.

Preliminary examination suggests that melted aluminum may have dripped into some PRDs, possibly degrading their performance, they said.

NTSB investigators discovered that three of the examined derailed vinyl chloride tank cars were manufactured with aluminum protective housing covers in the 1990s. Although the number of tank cars in flammable gas service with aluminum protective housing covers is presently unknown, the NTSB has requested industry data to determine the size of the potentially affected fleet, NTSB officials said.

PRD and valve assemblies recovered from the five vinyl chloride tank cars are being delivered to a testing facility where investigators will further examine them during the week of March 13, for conditions that might have affected their operation following the derailment.

The NTSB is investigating the derailment to determine the probable cause.

Meanwhile, CSX and NS yesterday announced they’re joining the Federal Railroad Administration’s Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), after U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg earlier this week urged the nation’s major freight railroads to do so.

Both Class Is said they already have their own close-call safety reporting programs. The C3RS program will supplement those company programs, officials at both companies said in press releases.

"Across our entire network, we are continually delivering coaching to ensure we are protecting ourselves, our teammates and our neighbors; complying with laws and regulations; and speaking up about safety concerns. The safety of our employees and the communities we serve will always be our top priority," said CSX President Joe Hinrichs.

Buttigieg called on Class Is to join the C3RS program as part of several rail safety initiatives that federal officials are seeking in the aftermath of the Feb. 3 derailment.