Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said he was "not completely satisfied" with railroad company Norfolk Southern's response to a second Ohio train derailment that occurred Saturday.
The train derailment, which happened outside Springfield, took place about a month after 20 train cars from a Norfolk Southern train derailed just outside of East Palestine, Ohio. Some of the cars in the original derailment contained toxic chemicals, but the rail company said there were no chemicals this time around.
OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT: TIM RYAN CALLS FOR UNITY AROUND EAST PALESTINE
“I’m not entirely satisfied because I want to know [if there] are some sort of remnants of something that might have been in those cars,” Brown told ABC.
“Those cars were mostly empty. But I want to know if there are any contaminants sort of left in those mostly empty cars that might have affected Clark County near the fairgrounds, all the way into Springfield.”
Brown said local and state officials were “pretty satisfied” with Norfolk Southern’s response to the recent derailment, but Brown still wants more information about both incidents. Residents in East Palestine have continued to express fears about threats to their health because of a subsequent controlled burn that released the chemicals to avoid an explosion.
“People are still concerned. My couple trips in the last two weeks I’ve made to East Palestine, and the railroad’s still not answering all the questions,” Brown said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Brown and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) introduced a bipartisan bill last week that seeks to improve railroad safety. The legislation would require rail carriers to notify state emergency response officials if they are carrying hazardous materials and ensure that each train is operated by a team of at least two people.
Brown said he believes the bill will pass the Senate, but he's more concerned about the House of Representatives. If it passes both chambers, it will go to President Joe Biden's desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.