The news of a derailed train in East Palestine, Ohio – in which crews opted to burn the toxic chemicals in the overturned tanker cars to avoid a potentially catastrophic explosion – hasn’t been plastered all over the news (aside from maybe a reporter being arrested at a Mike DeWine news conference) like it should be, but that’s probably to be expected.
After all, Norfolk Southern has billions of dollars at stake in its stock valuation, and certainly wants to avoid questions as to why it lobbied for so long on relaxed safety measures that no doubt helped contribute to the disaster happening in this Ohio village near the Pennsylvania border.
But even if that news came to light on a national scale, what would it do? What would change as a result? Are you confident anything would actually happen?
Just How Dangerous Is East Palestine Right Now?
No doubt more dangerous than we’re being led to believe, because we’re only hearing from the people who are responsible for this ecological disaster in the first place.
Residents of East Palestine were evacuated as crews burned those toxic chemicals, releasing them into the air and raining it down upon the area. However, these people have very quickly been told they can safely return home, even as evidence of the disaster remains around them. And if you do some sleuthing on social media, there are plenty of people talking about how the situation feels much more dangerous than we’re being led to believe. We’re talking about a massive release of deadly chemicals into the air and possibly the surrounding water supply, so why shouldn’t the people living there be concerned? And just how far will the aftereffects of this crash reach?
Initially, officials were hesitant to burn the chemicals inside the cars, as the vinyl chloride would send hydrogen chloride and the toxic gas phosgene into the air. But hey, they did it anyway, and even though those toxins were detected in the air during the controlled burn, numerous other tests and measurements have led authorities to determine the air quality is safe enough.
To this point, some East Palestine residents have already complained of a burning sensation in their eyes and headaches since the crash, along with smelling chlorine in the air, and there have been some anecdotal reports of various animal deaths in the area.
Even with a supposedly “safe” controlled burn and release – which is now looking anything but safe – the spilled chemicals have been given plenty of time to embed themselves into the air and ground.
Once again, normal American citizens are now forced to contend with a situation that could have easily been avoided. Instead, no one will have to answer for this from Norfolk Southern, and the company’s stockholders will continue to benefit from it. Meanwhile – and perhaps this is conspiratorial – we might not even know the true extent of how this affects people in the area for years to come. But in an age where we’re assaulted with bad news about our everyday lives – I truly haven’t known peace since I learned about microplastics – why should we expect anything different with this East Palestine situation?
No doubt there will be lawsuits stemming from this, but what’s going to come from it besides maybe a settlement (which of course isn’t nothing)?
The damage has been done.
