COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says he was not presented with any scenario by experts telling him that the controversial controlled burn that took place shortly after the toxic train derailment in East Palestine last year was not necessary.
DeWine's office provided a statement to 3News on the heels of NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy's testimony before the U.S. Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation on Wednesday.
Specifically, Homendy told U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) that because the five vinyl chloride chemical tank cars had cooled and stabilized, there was not a risk of an uncontrolled explosion, meaning a controlled release and vent was not necessary. She added that during the important few minutes leading to the decision to have the controlled burn inside the tank cars, experts from chemical shipper Oxy Vinyls were not present to give their opinion.
The release came on Feb. 6, 2023, three days after the derailment in Columbiana County. The controlled burn came hours after DeWine announced that the contents of five rail cars were "currently unstable and could potentially explode, causing deadly disbursement of shrapnel and toxic fumes."
DeWine's statement from Thursday indicated that he had "spent hours" with incident command and Norfolk Southern contractors on the day of the release, adding that he "asked numerous questions to understand the facts."
"No one—not one single expert—opined that day about there being any other scenario occurring besides either a catastrophic explosion or a controlled release to prevent such an explosion," DeWine's office added.
Homendy backed that statement up in her testimony to Vance.
"The factual information in our docket shows that Oxy Vinyls was on scene providing information to Norfolk Southern’s contractor who was in the room when the decision was made, and when advice was given to the governor of Ohio, to the incident commander, they were not given full information because no one was told Oxy Vinyls was on scene," Homendy testified. "They were left out of the room. The incident commander didn’t even know they existed. Neither did the governor. So they were provided incomplete information to make a decision."
Here is an excerpt from Homendy's testimony with Vance. You can watch the entire exchange below:
Vance: So let me just go to one final question here. We combine all these facts together, your reporting thus far concludes that Norfolk Southern’s contractors’ recommendation to conduct a controlled burn lacks sufficient scientific basis, disregarded available temperature data and contradicted expert feedback from the shipping firm on site.
Now, this was all told to the decision makers on the ground that they had to make a decision in less than 13 minutes to blow up all five of these toxic chemical cars without any other voices being included to offer a contrary opinion, is that right?
Homendy: That’s correct.
Following the derailment and controlled burn, questions about environmental impacts and potential health problems have taken center stage throughout the East Palestine area as cleanup efforts continue.
Here is the full statement from DeWine:
"NTSB Chair Homendy testified yesterday that neither Governor DeWine nor incident command were ever presented with a scenario from experts that a controlled vent and release was unnecessary to prevent a catastrophic explosion. They were also not presented any scenario where, if officials did nothing, the train cars would not explode catastrophically. Governor DeWine spent hours with incident command and Norfolk Southern contractors on the day of the release and asked numerous questions to understand the facts. No one—not one single expert—opined that day about there being any other scenario occurring besides either a catastrophic explosion or a controlled release to prevent such an explosion."
After Homendy's testimony, here was what Vance had to say:
"This is an extraordinary finding. We were told, effectively, that there were two bad options, the controlled burn or the uncontrolled explosion. And it seems, based on the data that we have, that there was not a ton of reason to do the [controlled] burn. And that, of course, is what spread toxic chemicals all over this community and the surrounding region. It’s really an extraordinary finding."
Vance's U.S. Senate counterpart from Ohio, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) added the following:
"This is outrageous. This explosion — which devastated so many — was unnecessary. The people of East Palestine are still living with the consequences of this toxic burn. This is more proof that Norfolk Southern put profits over safety & cannot be trusted."
3News reached out to Norfolk Southern for reaction to Homendy's testimony. The company provided the below statement:
"The final decision to conduct a controlled release was made by the Incident Commander, with input from multiple stakeholders, including Norfolk Southern and local, state, and federal authorities. The top priority of everyone involved was the safety of the community, as well as limiting the impact of the incident. The successful controlled release prevented a potentially catastrophic uncontrolled explosion that could have caused significant damage for the community. To date, continuous environmental testing in coordination with and alongside US and Ohio EPA has shown the air and drinking water in the community are safe."
