Transportation Secretary Buttigieg visits site of Ohio toxic train wreck as NTSB will soon release a preliminary report

Almost three weeks after a train wreck spewed toxic chemicals and wreaked havoc in Ohio, the nation's top transportation official toured the scene of destruction Thursday.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited East Palestine with members of the National Transportation Safety Board -- which will release a preliminary report Thursday on the February 3 derailment.

They were joined by staff from the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and looked at 11 tank cars involved in the derailment site.

The visit came hours before the NTSB's expected release of its initial report. The NTSB's findings "could be the basis for a criminal referral" in Ohio, the state's lieutenant governor said, though he did not specify whether he meant the NTSB's preliminary or final report.

"I would encourage our Ohio team to take a look at that as soon as we get a chance to see the facts surrounding the accident itself," Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.

Husted argued that Norfolk Southern, the train's operator, should temporarily relocate East Palestine residents who don't feel safe.

"I think that the railroad should consider buying property of people who may not feel safe or would want to relocate as a result of the spill," Husted said on "CNN This Morning."

"This is the railroad's responsibility, and it's up to the government officials at the federal, state, and local levels to hold them accountable and do right by the citizens of East Palestine."

East Palestine residents -- including some who have reported health problems since the disaster -- vented their frustration at government officials and Norfolk Southern.

"Your company stinks," resident Jim Stewart told Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw during a CNN town hall Wednesday night.

Stewart, who has lived in East Palestine for more than six decades, said the wreck torched his dreams of retiring soon and selling his house. He said he worries about the home's value now and is afraid to take his dog out because of a strong stench lingering in the air.

For weeks, residents have reported a variety of health problems since the train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed, shooting towers of black smoke over the community of about 5,000 people.

To help prevent a deadly explosion of vinyl chloride, crews released the toxic chemical into a trench and burned it off.

The EPA said testing shows the air and municipal water in East Palestine are safe. But some residents aren't convinced.

"I don't feel safe because I don't know what the future holds for my town," lifelong resident Jessica Conard said. "This has the potential to really decimate a small town like us."

While NTSB preliminary reports don't include a definitive cause nor draw conclusions, federal investigators probing the wreck have said surveillance video captured a wheel of the train bearing "in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment."

In a February 14 statement, the NTSB said the "suspected overheated wheel bearing" was collected for examination from engineers.

The train slowed down dramatically after the first signs of the potential wheel bearing overheat appeared on surveillance video -- about 21 miles before it derailed, according to a new CNN analysis of surveillance video and Department of Transportation documents.

The train had been traveling at an average speed of 49 miles per hour between Alliance, Ohio, and Salem, Ohio -- but then slowed down to nearly half that speed between Salem and East Palestine.

CNN calculated the train's average speed by using surveillance video time stamps that showed the train's positions at specific points on the track.

The slowdown was well below the "typical speed range" for a train traveling along that stretch of track, according to documents filed in 2020 with the Federal Railroad Administration.

It's unclear what prompted that dramatic slowdown. NTSB spokesperson Jennifer Gabris told CNN "this information will be part" of Thursday's preliminary report.

CNN reached out to Norfolk Southern but did not immediately receive a response.

Courtney Newman, a mother and teacher in East Palestine, said since her family returned home, her son has had "bloody noses every day," and she has had "skin issues."

Another resident, Josh Hickman, said he is still staying at a hotel as he doesn't feel safe returning home, but he's had to come into the village a few times and experienced symptoms including headaches, dizziness and blood from his nose -- and on Tuesday, sought treatment at the emergency room.

A third resident reported eyes burning, headaches and vomiting since the derailment.

In addition to vinyl chloride, chemicals of concern at the site include phosgene and hydrogen chloride, which are released when vinyl chloride breaks down; butyl acrylate; ethylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate; and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, according to the EPA. All these chemicals can change when they break down or react with other things in the environment, creating a stew of potential toxins.

"We're getting everything we need, except answers," East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said Wednesday. "We need answers, as far as the health concerns."

During the town hall, Ohio's governor stressed he did not want to minimize any medical issues potentially linked to the derailment, saying that's the reason he requested medical experts to the community.

Medical teams from the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health and Human Services will also be on the ground this week at Gov. Mike DeWine's request, he said Friday.

The state opened a health assessment clinic Tuesday for residents who worry their symptoms could be linked to the wreck. The clinic includes nurses, toxicologists and mental health professionals, and can provide residents with referrals if needed, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Despite repeated questions from frustrated residents, Shaw, the CEO of Norfolk Southern, declined to answer questions regarding the wreck investigation and details about what may have caused the derailment, saying he was "prohibited" from talking about the probe.

"I'm terribly sorry that this has happened to this community," he said. "What I can do, and what I will do, is make it right."

"We're going to get the cleanup right, we're going to reimburse the citizens, we're going to invest in the long term health of this community," Shaw said. "I'm going to see this through, and we're going to be here. And we're going to work with these community leaders to help you thrive."

"We're looking for ideas from the community on where we can help," he added.

Norfolk Southern has been ordered by the EPA to fully clean up the wreck -- or face expensive consequences.

"EPA has special authority for situations just like this where we can compel companies who inflict trauma and cause environmental and health damage to communities, like Norfolk Southern has done, to completely clean up the messed that they've caused and pay for it," administrator Michael Regan said.

According to Regan, Norfolk Southern will be required to:

"If Norfolk Southern decides that they don't want to follow the order, EPA will step in, so that there's no break in service, perform these duties, while fining the company up to $70,000 a day and then we'll recoup our cost on the back end," Regan said during the town hall. "And the law gives us the authority to charge Norfolk Southern up to three times the amount that the cleanup will cost us."

The ongoing cleanup efforts at the derailment site include removing contaminated soil and water from under the railroad tracks.

The contaminated soil became a point of contention last week after a public document sent to the EPA on February 10 did not list soil removal among completed cleanup activities. It is not yet known what significance or impact the soil that was not removed before the railroad reopened on February 8 will have had on the surrounding areas.

DeWine said 4,588 cubic yards of soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water have been removed so far from East Palestine. The railroad tracks will also be taken up so that the soil can be removed, the governor has said.

In a Wednesday update, DeWine reiterated test results showed water coming from East Palestine's municipal system was safe to drink, but said officials will continue testing the water weekly to ensure it remains clean.

Health authorities have also tested water from at least 74 private wells and those results are pending. Residents who get their water from private wells -- which may be closer to the surface than municipal wells -- should continue drinking bottled water until they receive their test results, the governor said.

But some residents remain hesitant to believe what they've been told.

"Since I (got) home from evacuating, I'm still not using the water because I never know if ... they're telling the truth or it's a lie," resident Nene Stewart said during the town hall. "I use bottled water. I can't. I'm not trusting what they're saying. I don't know who's telling the truth."

The-CNN-Wire

CNN's Kristina Sgueglia, Pete Muntean and Paul P. Murphy contributed to this report.