Pressure builds for federal action over U.S. Ohio train derailment: reports

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw (Front) prepares to testify at a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)

Hazardous chemicals travel right next to each of us every day, and ruptures, crashes and spills are more common than you might believe.

NEW YORK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Ohio's U.S. Senators have criticized train company Norfolk Southern for "putting profits over people," and insisted their legislation presents a "time for choosing" in a closely watched committee hearing, reported Ohio Capital Journal on Friday.

Separately, the rail industry announced plans to install about 1,000 additional wayside detectors in response to the derailment in East Palestine, where the derailment happened on Feb. 3, leaking hazardous materials.

On Capitol Hill, though, company CEO Alan Shaw declined to support the bipartisan Rail Safety Act of 2023, saying only that he supported "the legislative intent to make railroads safer," according to the report.

According to U.S. news portal Poynter, chemical accidents happen more than once every two days in the United States, as "hazardous chemicals travel right next to each of us every day, and ruptures, crashes and spills are more common than you might believe."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that the country averages 150 catastrophic chemical-related incidents each year.

"Throughout history, the country's most devastating man-made disasters have run the gamut -- from oil spills in Alaska to train derailments in Texas to devastating fires in New York," said the U.S. News &World Report in its coverage of the accident in Ohio.