Train derailments are not uncommon. How will we change it?

NPR’s Michelle Martin asks reporter Rebecca Burns what’s behind chronic train derailments in the United States.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

For a couple of weeks now, we’ve been hearing about a train derailment and a chemical fire in East Palestine, Ohio. A number of residents were forced to evacuate after government officials allowed the company to carry out a controlled arson attack, meaning they deliberately burned chemicals to try to prevent an even more devastating explosion. But as frightening as the whole situation is for these residents, it turns out that this is a fairly common occurrence, or at least not uncommon. More than a thousand trains derail every year. Rebecca Burns is a reporter for media startup The Lever, founded by former Bernie Sanders speechwriter David Sirota, and this week she co-wrote an op-ed in The New York Times that argued it shouldn’t be like this. And Rebecca Burns is with us now. Thank you very much for joining us.

REBECCA BURNS: Thank you for inviting me.

MARTIN: So let’s start with the crash in East Palestine. The company that owns the train deliberately burned some of the substances the train was carrying, including vinyl chloride. According to the EPA, chronic exposure is associated with cancer. Now, I know you’re mostly focused on why this is happening, but based on what you’ve already learned, was it the right thing to burn stuff?

BURNS: Right. As such, there are certainly serious concerns about the long-term health effects of vinyl chloride exposure. It has a long latency period before people exposed to it can develop breathing problems. It is associated with several serious types of cancer. What we do know is a previous accident in 2012 in New Jersey where thousands of tons of vinyl chloride were spilled, there are reports that residents of the area are suffering from long term health effects.

MARTIN: So you pointed out in your article that train derailments have actually decreased since the 1970s, but there are still, you know, hundreds every year. And you also say that the cost has gone up. What do you mean? I mean, chemical leaks have increased since the 1970s?

BURNS: Right. So, total derailments have gone down since the 70s, but accidents per mile have actually gone up. Derailment damage, especially when transporting hazardous chemicals, has also been increasing over the past seven years. So one of the problems here is that we have these longer and heavier trains with smaller and smaller crews, and so accidents when they happen can be quite serious.

MARTIN: So what can make a difference? I mean, one of the things you point out in your article is that the technology, let’s say braking technology, is actually quite ancient. What can bring this number down?

BURNS: So, most of the freight trains in the country are running using braking technology developed during the Civil War era – air brakes that stop the train cars one by one, sort of like a giant fairing. So the rule would require retrofitting of electronically controlled brake systems that have shorter stopping times. My point is that in addition to, you know, technological upgrade, it’s actually sort of the other side of the coin, it’s labor issues that make railways resist investment in maintenance and need technology upgrade. They were also very reluctant to invest in a fully staffed workforce that has sick days and, you know, everything you need to maintain and operate trains safely.

MARTIN: Rebecca Burns is a reporter for media startup The Lever. Rebecca, thank you very much for joining us.

BURNS: Thank you for inviting me.

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