Farley to Speak at AFPM Safety Conference on Lessons from East Palestine Train Derailment
March 7, 2024
Partner Mark Farley will speak on Thursday, May 16, at 1:30 PM during the AFPM 2024 National Occupational & Process Safety Conference & Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas. Farley and his team are representing a shipper who is a participating party in the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the derailment of Norfolk Southern Railway train 32N in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, 2023.
During his presentation, Farley will discuss lessons learned from the response to the derailment. He also will will provide practical advice to shippers of hazardous materials whose products may be involved in a major transportation incident.
Although the NTSB's investigation is on-going, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy testified about the incident before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on March 6, 2024. Chair Homendy stated that a controversial "vent and burn" strategy implemented by the railroad and its emergency response contractors was not justified and lacked a scientific basis. Chair Homendy also testified that the railway and its emergency response contractors disregarded essential information from the shipper of the involved product and failed to share with the Incident Commander and other key decisionmakers the shipper's view that polymerization of the product was not occurring.
Chair Homendy's testimony is available at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDfcKlN79AM.