Tankers of vinyl chloride were going halfway across the country, government records show, a trip highlighting the risks of transporting chemicals as plastics production grows.
In a tight-knit town already skeptical of the government, the lack of concrete information, and the open-ended nature of the crisis, undergird anxiety.
Safety experts said the East Palestine derailment might not have happened had Norfolk Southern placed sensors closer together. The federal government doesn’t require or regulate their use.