Ohio

Safety chair: Burn and vent after 2023 East Palestine, Ohio train derailment wasn’t needed

Published

2 years ago

March 6, 2024

Safety chair: Burn and vent after 2023 East Palestine, Ohio train derailment wasn’t needed

A controlled burn of hazardous chemicals carried out after the derailment last year of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, was unnecessary, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s chief executive.

Norfolk Southern contractors’ recommendation to carry out a controlled burn lacked scientific reasoning, discounted available temperature data and contradicted expert feedback, agency Chair Jennifer Homendy said Wednesday.

Homendy’s comments were in response to questions from Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing.

Oxy Vinyls, the company shipping the chemicals, advised Norfolk Southern and its contractors that there was no justification to do a controlled burn, Homendy said, adding the tank cars had begun to cool.

Homendy said Gov. Mike DeWine and the incident commander were given incomplete information when deciding to vent and burn the five tank cars containing vinyl chloride.

“They were left out of the room,” she said of Oxy Vinyls’ experts. “The incident commander didn’t even know they existed. Neither did the governor.”

DeWine spokesperson Dan Tierney said the governor and incident command were presented with two options: vent and release the vinyl chloride or risk an uncontrolled explosion that would send shrapnel flying around the area.

Tierney said no one suggested they could wait for the tanks to cool down.

“It’s somewhat ludicrous to think that somebody on the ground in East Palestine didn’t know how to get information to the people making decisions,” Tierney said. “That’s where the governor’s frustration is.”

The final decision to do a controlled burn came from the incident commander with input from the railroad along with local, state and federal authorities, Norfolk Southern said in a statement.

“The top priority of everyone involved was the safety of the community, as well as limiting the impact of the incident,” the statement reads. “The successful controlled release prevented a potentially catastrophic uncontrolled explosion that could have caused significant damage for the community.”

Environmental testing in coordination with federal and state environmental protection agencies has shown the community’s air and drinking water is safe.

President Joe Biden visited East Palestine last month to praise what he called a “Herculean” cleanup and make a show of drinking the tap water.

A total of 38 rail cars came off the tracks during the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment, including 11 that were carrying dangerous chemicals.

At least five different chemicals were carried in rail cars that derailed, according to a letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Norfolk Southern. The chemicals included vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and isobutylene.

Vinyl chloride is a chemical used to make PVC pipes and is considered a carcinogen. Exposure to vinyl chloride is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer as well as brain and lung cancers.

Burning vinyl chloride creates the toxic gas phosgene and hydrogen chloride. The gases were used as weapons during World War I.

Various videos of the controlled burn show pillars of fire and subsequent thick, black smoke engulfing the immediate surrounding area.

Roughly 2,000 residents were forced to temporarily evacuate from their homes after hazardous chemicals were released into the soil, water and air. Some still worry about the long-term health and economic effects of the derailment.

“This is outrageous. This explosion – which devasted 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,” Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said in a written statement.

Norfolk Southern said it has spent more than $1.1 billion in its response to the derailment. Since the fire began, the company says it has invested $103.2 million in the community, including $21 million distributed to residents.

Columbus Dispatch staff writer Max Filby contributed to this report.

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Ohio

Northeast Ohio woman wins $100,000

Published

14 hours ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

BEACH CITY, Ohio (WJW) – A Northeast Ohio woman is feeling lucky after finally winning big playing the Ohio lottery.

According to the Ohio Lottery, the winner is $100,000 richer after her ticket matched all five of the Rolling Cash 5 winning numbers: 11-14-19-25-29.

According to the lottery, the woman said she plays almost every day, but this is the first time she’s gotten a big winning prize.

After taxes, she will receive $72,875.00.

The winning ticket was claimed at Lucky Choice located at 577 W. Nationwide Blvd. in Columbus.

“She still is in shock, so she doesn’t have any immediate plans for her prize,” the Ohio Lottery website said.

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Ohio

A year later, here’s how much Beard bridge fire has cost taxpayers so far

Published

1 day ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

A year later, here’s how much Beard bridge fire has cost taxpayers so far

A year-ago fire under the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge led to a 100-day closure.
Ohio spent nearly $8.7 million on bridge repairs, while Cincinnati will spend about $2 million to replace a destroyed playground.
Four suspects were arrested in connection with the fire, with one sentenced to up to 13.5 years in prison for arson.

Ohio spent close to $8.7 million to reopen the Daniel Carter Beard bridge over the Ohio River following the catastrophic year-ago fire that closed the bridge for 100 days.

The city of Cincinnati will be spending about $2 million more to replace the playground under the bridge, destroyed by the fire.

That $10.7 million price tag – which does not include the cost of city, county or state employees, some of whom continue to manage fire-related work – is less than an earlier estimate of $13 million.

But whatever the amount, taxpayers are the ones footing the bills.

“It’s unfortunately just part of doing business,” said Matt Bruning, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation. “We have to absorb that.”

Fire brings 4 arrests, 100 days of disruption

Cincinnati fire officials were called to the base the Beard bridge at 3:20 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2024.

That’s where fire erupted around 3 a.m. at the 1000 Hands Playground in Sawyer Point Park along the river.

The Ohio Department of Transportation immediately closed the bridge, reopening the northbound side that night and later saying the southbound lanes would remain closed until mid-March. Even though Kentucky owns the bridge, Ohio took the lead because the fire damaged Interstate 471 on the Ohio side of the river rather than the bridge itself.

By Dec. 11, Cincinnati officials had arrested four suspects in connection with the fire, with county officials taking the four to court.

On Feb. 9, 100 days after the fire, the state reopened the bridge in full, ahead of the March target.

That chronology is now part of the history of the Beard bridge, named for the founder of the Boy Scouts of America, opened in 1976, and nicknamed the Big Mac for a shape and color that resemble McDonald’s iconic “M.” It cost $14 million then – what would be close to $75 million in 2025 dollars.

ODOT spent $8.7 million, before staff expenses

Ohio’s transportation department brought on Great Lakes Construction Co. of Hinckley, Ohio, to manage the repair work.

Working with more than two dozen subcontractors, Great Lakes demolished and replaced two sections of I-471’s bridge deck, along with warped steel beams. Contractors also repaired about 70 feet of damaged wall on the northbound side of the interstate.

The state paid Great Lakes close to $6.8 million, part of which went to subcontractors. It paid another $1.2 million for a painting contractor, $433,000 in engineering and other consulting fees, and $286,000 for inspections.

The state’s $8.7 million bill does not include what it paid ODOT employees diverted to the Beard project.

Its communication staff, as one example, produced close to four dozen press releases over 100 days with bridge-related updates.

Lead suspect now serving time in Ohio prison

Some costs of the bridge disaster are harder to quantify.

That includes work by the Cincinnati Fire Department to investigate the case, Cincinnati Police Department to arrest the suspects, and Hamilton County courts and prosecutor’s office to try them. It also includes costs absorbed by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections to jail one of the convicted suspects.

The suspects who created those costs include:

James Hamilton and Kaitlen Hall, who both pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the case. Each was sentenced to probation and community service.
Zachary Stumpf, who pleaded guilty to obstructuring justice and was sentenced to three years of probation.
Terry Stiles, who admitted to one count of arson and one count of aggravated arson. He earned a sentence of nine to 13 ½ years in prison. Now 40, Stiles began serving time at Noble Correction Institution in the eastern Ohio town of Caldwell on June 11.

Prosecutors said Stiles and Stumpf set the fire, with Hall providing transportation. The three had been driving around the area that night, looking for scooters to steal, prosecutors said earlier. Hamilton was not present for the fire, but attempted to help the other suspects evade arrest, attorneys said.

Replacement of 1000 Hands Playground will include public, private funds

Fire-related costs also include $1.9 million to $2.1 million to replace the 21-year-old 1000 Hands Playground destroyed in the fire. Between $600,000 and $700,000 of that will go to playground equipment.

Cincinnati Parks Foundation will raise an unknown portion of those dollars, with the city covering the balance.

The Cincinnati Parks board OK’d a $50,000 down payment for the project in May, with parks officials bringing on Midstates Recreation of Pataskala, Ohio, to design it.

Parks officials will release a preliminary design for public feedback soon, spokesman Rocky Merz said. A final design should be complete early next year, he said.

The new playground will cover 11,000 to 14,000 square feet, to be installed east of the 1000 Hands site and south of the volleyball, tennis and pickleball courts at Sawyer Point.

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Ohio

Five reasons for concern for Penn State against Ohio State

Published

2 days ago

October 29, 2025

Press Room

Five reasons for concern for Penn State against Ohio State

After reading the headline to this article, Penn State fans will be hard-pressed not to ask, “where to start”? From where this game started in people’s minds in the preseason to now, everything concerning the Nittany Lions has gone downhill, while everything concerning Ohio State is coming up aces. They are the No.1 team in the country with most of their units and players ranked first nationally in every statistic. Meanwhile, there are not many positive vibes coming from Happy Valley. Thus, it will be a rough mountain to climb for the Nittany Lions on the road in the Shoe.

Here are the top five(out of many) reasons for concern for the Nittany Lions headed into their matchup with the vaunted Buckeyes.

Julian Sayin’s absurd completion percentage

For any freshman quarterback, some might say a 65% completion rate is a steady goal to have. It means that they are on track, but have something to improve upon. Say that to Julian Sayin, because he’s unlike any freshman QB ever. While some will point to the elite weapons around him, no one expected he would be completing a quite frankly absurd 80 percent of his passes. Some will also say that most of those have come on quick throws to the flats rather than any explosive throws. Still, it’s mighty impressive, and with that receiving corps, any throw is possible to make. Penn State will have to decide whether it wants to blitz at a high rate or try its best to hold up coverage. Both of those ideas could work if Sayin weren’t ambitious enough to throw the deep ball. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, he absolutely is.

Carnell Tate’s emergence

Speaking of Julian Sayin’s weapons, Carnell Tate might be the most dangerous one. Not only is he emerging as the true WR1 for this offense, but he’s making people forget about Jeremiah Smith as well, which is perhaps the scary prospect. On just 34 receptions, he has 587 yards and 6 touchdowns, averaging an astounding 17.3 yards per catch. He’s not just matching Jeremiah Smith’s output, in many ways, he could be exceeding it. For a Penn State secondary that, while it is one of the best in the nation, hasn’t been tested much, it is a daunting proposition. No defensive scheme can prepare you for Carnell Tate.

Ohio State’s record against Penn State…especially at home

This one hits harder because the Buckeyes have been tormenting the Nittany Lions even before they were a Big Ten team. Ohio State has an impressive record of 26-14 all-time against the Nittany Lions, but it’s their home record that’s so demoralizing for Penn State fans. They are 14-7 in the confines of Columbus, and to make matters worse, Penn State has only won twice in the Shoe since they became Big Ten members. It definitely hits home when you see former head coach James Franklin’s putrid resume as well. If there’s any team the Nittany Lions shouldn’t want to face in a time of crisis, it’s the Buckeyes.

Huge coaching disparity

It’s one thing to go on the road in a place you don’t often win with relatively green personnel in key areas. It’s quite another when the coach on the opposite sideline has the best all-time winning percentage in college football. Ryan Day has become the epitome of winning in college football and now has the national championship to prove it. While everyone thought there would be some growing pains with Sayin taking the reins of the offense and a high turnover on the defensive side of the football, it has been anything but, with Day really doing an exceptional job of understanding the ebbs and flows of his squad. On the other side of the spectrum, you have Terry Smith going into his second career game as head coach with a freshman QB playing in his second-ever start. Not necessarily the best of situations.

1 word: defense

This is perhaps the thing that should scare Penn State fans the most: Ethan Grunkemeyer facing this defense. In every single statistical category that matters, Ohio State is the undisputed leader. At every single level, you have elite NFL-caliber talents who get the job done no matter the team or where they’re at in the season. Players like Arvell Reese and Kenyatta Jackson sprang out of the woodwork while established vets such as Caleb Downs almost feel like they’re already playing with an NFL mentality. Ethan Grunkemeyer won’t know what’s coming to him on Saturday….even with a bye week to try and prepare.

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