US Sen. Menendez Says Paulsboro, NJ Accident Will Generate Legislative Action
By David Madden
PAULSBORO, N.J. (CBS) -- A week and a half after the National Transportation Safety Board issued its scathing report on the cause of the November 2012 derailment and chemical spill that emptied half of Paulsboro for days, New Jersey's senior senator has announced plans to introduce legislation he says may prevent another disaster.
US Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ, at lectern in photo) says he plans to touch base with the federal agencies responsible for oversight to see what NTSB recommendations can be put into effect now.
As for what can't be acted on in the short term, he says, "I will turn the recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board into comprehensive legislation. And the focus of that legislation is to raise safety up with the concerns of making a profit."
Menendez echoed the study's findings that laid particular blame at the feet of Conrail for what happened.
The drawbridge, which dates back to the Civil War, malfunctioned, causing vinyl chloride to spill into the Mantua Creek.
That span is now being replaced.