Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pennsylvania lawmakers grilled Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on Monday about who made the final decision to set toxic chemicals on fire as a safety precaution three days after last month’s catastrophic train derailment just across the Ohio border.

“Who was the trigger man?” state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, asked Mr. Shaw during his first public testimony at the state Capitol about the incident. Sen. Katie Muth, D-Chester, said, “There seems to be some confusion on whose idea this burn was.”

The release and burning of vinyl chloride from derailed train cars on Feb. 6 in East Palestine produced a massive black cloud that loomed over Beaver County in Western Pennsylvania, greatly increasing health and safety fears during the prolonged crisis. Mr. Shaw testified for more than an hour before the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee after it subpoenaed him to appear.

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