Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to Evaluate Train Derailment Response in East Palestine, OH

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will travel to East Palestine, Ohio, on Thursday, more than two weeks after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed and sparked serious concerns about risks to residents’ health and the environment.

Buttigieg’s visit, announced by the Department of Transportation, comes after pleas from residents and criticisms from Republicans that he hasn’t been more engaged with the response to cleanup and recovery efforts. Buttigieg explained to CBS News in a Tuesday interview that he wanted to give the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) the leeway to carry out their independent investigation into the crash, and looked forward to going as soon as he could be of use.

“I have followed the normal practice of transportation secretaries in the early days after a crash, allowing NTSB to lead the safety work and staying out of their way,” he told CBS News political correspondent Caitlin Huey Burns. “But I am very eager to have conversations with people in East Palestine about how this is impacted them.”

Read the source article at cbsnews.com