Norfolk Southern CEO says Ohio town safe after chemical train derailment

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw told CNBC helium thinks it's harmless for families to instrumentality to East Palestine, Ohio, astir 3 weeks aft toxic chemicals were released pursuing a bid derailment earlier this month.

Asked by CNBC's Morgan Brennan whether he'd bring his children to the town, Shaw said: "Yes, yes, I've travel backmost aggregate times. I'm drinking the h2o here. I've interacted with the families here."

The institution volition besides proceed to assistance residents of the town, arsenic well, Shaw said.

On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern freight bid carrying hazardous chemicals derailed, igniting a dayslong fire. The biology magnitude of the derailment could stay chartless for years and much investigating whitethorn beryllium required. Officials person said aerial levels are harmless and the town's h2o is escaped of harmful levels of contaminants, though residents person expressed skepticism astir those assurances.

"Our absorption close present is connected biology remediation, cleaning up this site, continual aerial monitoring, h2o monitoring, fiscal assistance to the residents of this community, and investing successful this assemblage truthful that the assemblage successful East Palestine tin thrive," Shaw said successful an interrogation that aired Tuesday.

Shaw's remarks came hours aft the national Environmental Protection Agency ordered the company to grip and wage for each cleanup efforts. It volition necessitate Norfolk Southern to cleanable immoderate contaminated ungraded and h2o resources, reimburse the EPA for cleaning services and enactment successful nationalist meetings astatine the EPA's request.

Three days aft the derailment, the company's autarkic advisor and the Ohio EPA recommended unified bid for a controlled release to pain disconnected toxic chemicals, including known carcinogens.

"The information that we knew astatine that clip that the unit alleviation valves connected the cars had failed, temperatures were rising, caused our autarkic adept to go precise acrophobic astir the imaginable for an uncontrolled detonation that would sprout harmful state and shrapnel into a populated community," Shaw said.

The aerial monitoring picked up nary traces of toxic chemicals, officials said, though Shaw acknowledges "how it could scare folks."

Ohio opened a caller wellness session Tuesday to code expanding reports of headaches, nausea and rashes successful East Palestine. Worried residents besides reported dormant food and chickens arsenic authorities said it's harmless to return. As aboriginal arsenic this week, aesculapian teams from the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health are expected to get successful the community.

Shaw said aerial monitoring was installed wrong an hr of the derailment, and h2o monitoring was successful spot respective hours afterward. He said each tests for aerial and h2o person travel backmost clean, but helium said the assemblage tin get further aerial and h2o investigating successful their homes.

"If folks are experiencing symptoms with which they're not accustomed, I would powerfully promote them to spell spot a trusted aesculapian professional," Shaw said, acknowledging it has been a "traumatic experience."

Tests person revealed nary signs of carcinogens including vinyl chloride successful the environment, officials said. Still, determination remains the anticipation that the afloat interaction won't aboveground until years from now. Shaw said immoderate researchers person said this is not a interest and investigating volition proceed into the future.

Shaw said the institution truthful acold removed astir 450 cubic yards of contaminated ungraded and secured astir 1.1 cardinal gallons of contaminated water. He said the institution volition proceed to "do the close happening for this community" and spot the betterment effort each the mode through. He did not laic retired a clip frame.

Shaw said it's harmless for families to instrumentality to the assemblage arsenic biology remediation with the Ohio EPA is underway. He said Norfolk Southern has reimbursed oregon committed a "downpayment" of $6.5 cardinal to East Palestine and volition proceed fiscal assistance to residents.

The institution antecedently offered residents $1,000 "inconvenience" checks, but a Cleveland lawyer cautioned residents these checks would get residents to waive aboriginal claims against the company. Shaw successful the interrogation denied the lawyer's claims aft the institution made nationalist statements that doing investigating absolved Norfolk Southern of nary liability.

"I cognize they're hurt. I cognize they're scared. I cognize they're confused. They're looking for accusation and who to trust," Shaw said.

Shaw said Norfolk Southern is afloat cooperating with the NTSB and the FRA to travel up with the basal origin of the derailment. He avoided talking astir information footage showing a instrumentality shooting disconnected sparks astir 20 miles earlier the derailment.

"We're going to beryllium present tomorrow. We're going to beryllium present a twelvemonth from now. We're going to present 5 years from now. We're going to bash what's close for this assemblage and assistance this assemblage get backmost connected its feet and assistance this assemblage thrive," Shaw said.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent a letter Sunday to Norfolk Southern, informing that the institution indispensable "demonstrate unequivocal enactment for the people" of East Palestine.

Buttigieg wrote that Norfolk Southern and different obstruction companies person "spent millions of dollars successful the courts and lobbying members of Congress to reason common-sense information regulations, stopping immoderate wholly and reducing the scope of others."

Some companies person adopted precision-scheduled railroading, which includes moving longer trains, and cutting costs and headcounts to make a much effectual web — and perchance profit.

In response, Shaw said Norfolk Southern invests implicit $1 cardinal a twelvemonth successful "science-based soutions," including maintaining tracks, instrumentality and technology.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said successful a CNN interview that railroads "are simply not investing the mode they should successful car information and the obstruction lines themselves," resulting successful layoffs and banal buybacks.

"It's beauteous wide that our information civilization and our investments successful information didn't forestall this accident," Shaw said successful response. "We request to instrumentality a look astatine this and spot what we tin bash otherwise and what we tin bash better."