Posted on 02/23/2023 1:00:08 PM PST by rxsid
Did Norfolk Southern neglect safety protocols in pursuit of DEI and ESG initiatives?
On February 3rd, dozens of Norfolk Southern train cars derailed while traveling through East Palestine, Ohio, with 11 of those cars carrying ultra hazardous chemical agents. Some three days later, those chemicals were burned off into the air, after officials expressed concerns that the materials could explode and ignite an even greater catastrophe.
Could all of this have been avoided?
On Thursday, the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) determined in a preliminary report that an overheated wheel bearing on a Norfolk Southern train car could be responsible for the derailment that occurred.
The report listed multiple operational concerns, adding that “surveillance video … showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment.” This seems to indicate that this was a disaster that could’ve been avoided with proper safety protocols in place.
We are offered clues of possible neglect in Norfolk Southern’s 2022 ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) report, which showcases how the railway corporation has completely embraced the modern “stakeholder capitalism” agenda that inundates seemingly every major American corporation.
Our 2022 ESG report highlights our efforts to develop sustainable solutions for both our customers and our planet, and to invest in our people. Read More: https://t.co/u7BoaOGp7O#Sustainability #DEI pic.twitter.com/3N0PDV0Vbc— Norfolk Southern (@nscorp) August 10, 2022
The report, published in late 2022, highlights how Norfolk is pursuing wokeness and the climate agenda over safety and merit-based hiring.
It contains a message from Alan Shaw, the rail company’s CEO, who has been in the news lately for all of the wrong reasons. In a letter to readers, Shaw proudly announced that they would continue “reducing our carbon footprint” while expanding their DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives.
Shaw, by the way, failed to show up for the latest community meeting on the railway disaster on Thursday.
An empty chair sits on the stage that was meant for Alan Shaw of @nscorp but that chair is empty - Norfolk is a no show once again pic.twitter.com/HIUOhoZpzH— Food & Water Watch (@foodandwater) February 23, 2023
As for the DEI page, it touts how Shaw signed the “CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion pledge,” a product of the ultra woke consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The pledge commits employers to pursue “racial equity” in their hiring processes and “implement and expand unconscious bias education and training.” In short, follow the agenda and you will be rewarded by The System.
In its DEI page, Jason Pettway, the company’s Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (a role created by the company in 2021) cheers the fact that more than half of all new hires belong to a racial minority.
The DEI page makes clear to readers that Norfolk is committed to hiring its workforce on the basis of gender and skin color, and not merit.
Forget about the mushroom cloud and toxic gasses they helped to launch over East Palestine. In its ESG section, Norfolk Southern has won plenty of awards recently for “delivering the low-carbon economy.”
Did all of this “climate leadership” mean Norfolk Southern was cutting corners on safety standards? The report was surely celebrated by Norfolk’s multi-trillion dollar asset management behemoth stakeholders.
As for the people of East Palestine, Ohio, they are left with the wreckage in their physical backyards, and with a series of questions that remain unanswered from Norfolk Southern officials, who have largely refused to hold themselves accountable for the consequences of their failures.
Did Norfolk Southern neglect safety protocols in pursuit of DEI and ESG initiatives?
So racial preferences hiring may have resulted in incompetent unqualified employees allowing the overheated wheel bearing. It was burning for nearly 45 minutes and nothing was done.
No wonder they are trying so hard to pin this on Trump and reg changes that had NO impact on this accident!
safety protocols................ of DEI and ESG initiatives?
DEI leads to DIE
It it turns out to be operator error or incompetence, then will be interesting if they can make the connection to recent hires and promotions based on DEI.
Many American CEOs have gone woke-stupid.
Interesting that a wheel bearing failure was the cause. Wonder what the main causes of derailments are, or possibly the main cause of failure is a track problem, or one train hitting another, or bad information to the engineer, or a negligent engineer.
I picture the local people wanting to get all the money they can via lawsuit.
Norfolk Southern was just going too fast transporting extremely hazardous materials in a densely populated area.....
“Which is the higher authority?”
If you need to ask, you’re a bigot!
/sarc
DEFINITELY!!! A video has been repeatedly posted here that shows the flaming hot box about 20 miles before the train derailed. Neither the train’s crew nor anybody else acted on it even though it ran at least half the length of the affected car. If the man sitting on the left side of the locomotive had just stuck his head out to look at the train as it went around a left turn, the hot box would have been spotted and the tragedy averted.
Assuming the train ran at 60 MPH (main tracks are permitted 80 MPH), that 45 minute interval would still pass over two "hot box" detectors placed 20 miles apart (minimum), 3 detectors (max). The detectors count axles starting at the locomotive and report "hot" axles as a count back from the locomotive. After counting, the report needs to be transmitted to the locomotive. I'm unsure of the latency between report generation and ability to get the report to the locomotive. Per news reports, the train crew did receive the report and they were slowing down when the derail occurred.
That’s a keeper to remind the gullible.
Having a wheel bearing burnoff is not unusual. The "old school" way to detect it in motion is with heat activated "stink bombs" inserted in the bearing adaptor. That relies on have a human downwind to detect the odor, inform the locomotive, stop the train and walk end to end to locate the "stinker". In the monitoring system I built for FRA, the stink bomb holes hosted an electronic thermal sensor. There are sensors on the inboard and outboard bearing adaptors at each wheel. When my cars were parked, I could tell which side of the car was getting sunlight. The monitor would reported a hot bearing to the locomotive long before a human could have smelled a stink bomb. C'est la vie!
I still have some of the hardware in my basement from the canceled project. Here is the bearing thermal sensor.
Controlled burn ?
Wasn’t aware it was legal to pour vinyl chloride into an open pit and burn it period, controlled or not.
Spit.
EPA doesn’t function as advertised.
It doesn’t protect our enviroment, it just chokes the life out of commerce.
It’s a domestic terrorist cartel imho.
Controlled burn ?,
of vinyl chloride ?
Without so much as an environmental impact study and statement or even a catalyctic converter much less smoke stack scrubber.
But they can demand my Calif vehicle emits less than so many parts per million.
Spit
Spit
Spit.
Maintenance records. That's where any evidence will be...IMO.
WE should always use DIE to describe this mess. Never let the left define the language or terms of a debate.
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