In the wake of Norfolk Southern's toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this year -- not far from the Pennsylvania border, our staff wondered: What hazardous materials move through Lancaster County? 

The answer isn't simple, and it isn't simple to find. The only entities with real-time information are the railroads. Homeland security recommendations call for restricted access to that information in a post-9/11 environment. Local governments can ask for the information annually from rail companies, but they often don't. Through Right-to-Know requests, the staff of WITF + LNP found that of 12 counties surveyed, only three keep specific records of materials.

Lancaster County, meanwhile, is one of those; the most recent data available is for 2021, and it's used for emergency preparedness training. Responders say that real-time information would make any response easier, as federal and state legislators call for increased transparency in information. 

Here's a look at what we learned.

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