Trains derail when cars and tankers come off the rail. Generally, the cause is equipment malfunction, human error, hitting an object, or the weather. The Federal Railroad Administration indicates that broken or faulty railroads are the number one cause of derailments. However, The National Transportation Safety Board is heading up the investigation of the East Palestine derailment and is so far leaning toward the failure of a railcar axle. A surveillance video caught footage of flames emitting from the bottom of one of the Norfolk Southern rail cars about twenty miles away from East Palestine. The disaster took place a short time afterward, even though the crew was alerted to the possible mechanical failure. Thus far, there is no indication that the crew was negligent. They followed the appropriate protocol and tried to slow and stop the train before the catastrophic failure.
Still, historically, some of the worst train derailments that resulted in toxic spills involved human error. For example, in 2005, a Graniteville, SC derailment resulted from rail workers failing to align a hand-operated switch properly. A moving train and a parked train collided, traveling around 48 miles per hour. The consequences of this error were catastrophic. Nine people were killed and 250 seriously injured by the release of 60 tons of toxic chlorine gas. About 5,400 people in the surrounding vicinity had to be evacuated for nearly two weeks while HAZMAT officials and cleanup teams decontaminated the area. However, that disaster could likely have been averted if the railroads had invested more in safety protocols and standards.
In 2012, the residents of Paulsboro, New Jersey, experienced something similar to what happened in East Palestine. A Conrail train derailed over a bridge because of the decision of an inadequately trained engineer in charge. Four cars fell into Mantua Creek, one of which was carrying 23,000 gallons of vinyl chloride. Chaos ensued, and the emergency responders did not follow protocol for cleaning a chemical spill. Likewise, police stated that vinyl chloride was non-toxic, and it was days before area residents were told to evacuate. Years after the chemical exposure, people living in Paulsboro complain of health issues, including respiratory problems, which are symptoms of toxic chemical exposure.
A CSX Transportation train derailed in Maryville, Tennessee, in July 2015, carrying 24,000 gallons of acrylonitrile which can cause damage to the liver and nervous system through exposure. Five thousand people were evacuated, and 87 were treated for various symptoms, including respiratory issues and nausea. The cause of the derailment was never discovered.
In 1991, a Southern Pacific train derailed outside the Northern California town of Dunsmuir, spilling 19,000 gallons of metam-sodium into the Upper Sacramento River. The chemical is used in herbicides. Five thousand people were evacuated, and 100 were treated for exposure. While there were no human fatalities, scientists discovered that all fish, reptiles, and living organisms died within a 40-mile radius of the dump. The spill prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to list metam-sodium on the list of hazardous materials requiring special handling during shipment. The cause of the derailment was a faulty locomotive that could not pull the train cars uphill and an incorrect sequencing of cars.
A Canadian Pacific Railway train derailed close to Minot, North Dakota, in 2002, carrying five cars loaded with the fertilizer gas, anhydrous ammonia. The rupture of the tankers released a cloud of toxic gas over the city. One person died from the exposure, 11 were severely injured, and 322 suffered minor exposure-related injuries. The cause of the derailment was found to be fatigue cracks in the rails and joint bars, which were undetectable by then routine inspection protocols.
In 1992, a Burlington Northern Railroad train carrying toxic chemicals jumped the tracks near the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Eighty thousand residents were given the order to evacuate because a toxic cloud of chemicals was released into the atmosphere and the Nemadji River, including the cancer-causing chemical benzene as well as toluene. Twenty-six were treated for toxic chemical exposure, but thousands of fish, wildlife, and domestic animals died. The cause of the derailment was attributed to a broken rail line.
In 2015, a passenger train derailed in Philadelphia because it was traveling more than 50 mph over the speed limit. The engineer mistook the speed limit for that of another area further down the line. Although this accident did not involve toxic chemicals, it is one of the worst derailments involving passengers. The accident killed eight people and injured more than 200 aboard, 11 of which were critically injured. While the engineer was ultimately responsible for the wreck, it may have been prevented had Amtrak installed a technology system known as “automatic train control.” The system was installed shortly after the disaster.