NTSB testimony reveals lack of inspection prior to Ohio train derailment.
Railroad union officials testified before the National Transportation Safety Board that Norfolk Southern's lax inspection standards may have contributed to the Feb. 3 derailment of 38 chemical tanker cars in East Palestine. The union officials said that proper inspection of cars might have detected a problem with an overheated bearing in a wheel of the first derailed car, and prevented the derailment and the environmental disaster that followed. Norfolk Southern has cut the number of inspectors and the amount of time the company allows inspectors to check rail cars for defects to increase productivity and profits. Union officials called for Congress to create new federal standards for rail safety and to make sure they are enforced.