A train derailment and chemical explosion that ripped through an Ohio town earlier this month have left locals feeling sick, angry—and completely abandoned.
Beats me why everyone is so surprised. All public companies are wrung dry by wall street's push for more profits, there's no Warren Buffet style investment in a tangible sustainable product anymore. Just a desire to see increasing profits on the balance sheets regardless of what is happening at the frontlines of the company. People being pushed to their limits burning out, outsourced work at the cost of quality which turns out to be more expensive to fix. Wall Street is not some mythical creature in the sky, it's everyone's 401K and pension funds. Blood is on everyone's greedy hands.
The Delaware River is essentially a waste dump full of PCB's and Chemicals from the 70's and before. We all know this but no cleanup is proposed including "superfund" sites. We are blind to the destruction of the countries' watershed by Plastics and Chemicals and our High Cancer Risks. No one takes responsibility
The attached article from Doomberg is worth a read. Important to note that Doomberg was lit up on Twitter for daring to write this. The conclusion is that we are currently incapable of having lucid, adult conversations about serious topics
The fact that this author doesn’t know the most basic fact of FEMA response is disturbing:
§§ 5121-5207 (the Stafford Act) §401 states in part that: "All requests for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists shall be made by the governor of the affected state." A state also includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the ...
Which doesn’t excuse Pete Buttigieg’s delayed presence on site....he should have been there immediately
The people of East Palestine have been ignored by a government that continues to shower billions on a corrupt regime in Ukraine, leading the world closer to World War III. Unfortunately, within four weeks, the majority if the American population will have forgotten the people of East Palestine. Shameful, but true.
These people have been abandoned by a USG that continues bro shower billions of dollars on a corrupt government in Ukraine. Within 4 weeks, the .majority of the population of the United States will forget about them. Shameful.
The derailment was caused by an overheated bearing on a railcar.
Unions are right to fear more accidents as railroads increase the length of trains and consider reducing the number of crew members from two to only one. Not to mention the absolutely horrific scheduling rules for crews that deprive them of proper rest between calls, keep them away from home for extended periods, don't allow them to even plan their own lives, and penalize them for taking needed off days.
The tank cars containing vinyl chloride evidently did not explode. The tank cars were properly designed to contain the contents in a derailment. However, the relief valves plugged as the vinyl chloride started to polymerize. There will need to be reconsideration of the proper relief devices for chemicals like VC, if the current ones in use can get plugged.
Somehow the temperature inside the VC cars started rising, and the conclusion was drawn that the VC was polymerizing inside the tank car. Then there was fear the rising temp could result in a BLEVE. This is why the decision was made to dump the contents and burn it off. A BLEVE could have leveled the town.
Shipping of VC needs to be restudied to understand how polymerization can be initiated inside the tank car and mitigation techniques developed and implemented.
Emergency braking systems need to be studied and perfected. The emergency brakes activated once the railcars came off the tracks and air hoses came apart, per the design intent, but railcars still rolled. If this design still results in additional cars coming off the rails and spilling hazardous contents, we need to go back to the drawing board to improve this system. This is the intent of the ECP brakes. Not saying that's the right answer, but it's good someone was thinking of improving what we have and coming up with options.
Vinyl chloride is nasty stuff. We need better procedures for getting rid of it in accidents such as this. Releasing it and burning it needed to be done in this case, but it produced hazardous byproducts (hydrochloric acid gas and some phosgene). We need a better way.
All in all, this incident has provided a long list of deficiencies that need correcting/improving.
I'm very confident all the men out there cleaning up this mess are doing their best with a pretty lousy situation. We owe a debt to those men that agree to go onto the front lines in situations like this, doing jobs none of the rest of us would dare touch.
Thank you for reporting on this. I grew up an hour from here and when the woman mentions playing in the streams I choked up. That was my childhood too. I read comments from locals who say they don't trust anyone now so even if the water was safe how would they have the trust to even believe it? That's a really bad place for this country to be in. My condolences go out to the people of East Palestine.
If you think this administration's indifference to the East Palestine situation has nothing to do with the fact that it's Trump country and largely working-class white, I've got a bridge to sell you. The Democratic operatives who run the administration know the residents won't vote for a Democrat regardless. It smacks of Katrina in reverse. Where is the outrage from the media?
Trump almost completely dismantled the EPA. The brain drain is nearly complete. He installed at the highest levels, not only climate deniers, but people who wanted all regs designed to protect the air we breathe, the land we farm and the water we drink and swim in, to disappear. Trump and the Republicans want the federal bureaucracy completely dismantled, because, in their minds, these are "unelected officials" who make onerous rules with which businesses have a difficult time coping. In addition to that, Trump's Supreme Court is firmly on the side of dismantling federal efforts to protect our land, air and water. The Court wants to leave these issues to the states, which, in their eagerness to attract business, create a business environment of no oversight. So, states choose regulation through fear of lawsuits, which is hardly an efficient model for keeping us safe from toxic chemicals. We all hate the government, and all its onerous, expensive, inconvenient environmental rules, that is, until a train,loaded with toxic chemicals, derails in our backyards. Blaming the current administration for this mess is missing the larger picture. How ironic that Trump shows up now. He may as well throw the Palestine residents a roll of paper towel.
When I forwarded this article to my sister, I was told:
“This article is sharing the narrative that has been developed and is being amplified by Fox - it’s another layer of white replacement grievance. Ruth Ben-Ghiat offers good insight into how these narratives take hold - its too bad facts and real policy get obscured so quickly in today’s political climate.”
An eastern elite cancel culture progressive living in Concord MA.
I’m still not sure of the meaning of “white replacement grievance” much less how it plays into a train derailment in rural Ohio.
Jesus. White replacement grievance? I am the furthest thing from right wing and I probably disagree with most commenters here on most issues. That being said, it's disgusting to me to look at a disaster like this and say that people's legitimate worries about their own health are nothing but "white replacement grievance." Like, is she implying that that is the case any time a white person fears their own death? Should these people be happy they're going to die of cancer because every time a white person dies it means American demographics are becoming more favorable to the Democrats?
I am from a rich coastal liberal town similar to Concord, MA and the attitude people in my hometown have towards middle America is shameful. For people who love to talk about empathy and compassion they have very little of either when it's applied to those icky white people in flyover country. My distaste for this attitude is what led me to news outlets like The Free Press despite being liberal myself. I cannot stand watching these people dehumanize their fellow Americans, particularly when they live lives of extraordinary wealth and privilege compared to the people they're denigrating. Absolutely loathsome.
Uncle Joe apparently wants to do for the rest of the world what his Transportation Department has done for East Palestine. At least the citizens of East Palestine can be grateful they weren't nuked...not yet at least.
Beats me why everyone is so surprised. All public companies are wrung dry by wall street's push for more profits, there's no Warren Buffet style investment in a tangible sustainable product anymore. Just a desire to see increasing profits on the balance sheets regardless of what is happening at the frontlines of the company. People being pushed to their limits burning out, outsourced work at the cost of quality which turns out to be more expensive to fix. Wall Street is not some mythical creature in the sky, it's everyone's 401K and pension funds. Blood is on everyone's greedy hands.
The Delaware River is essentially a waste dump full of PCB's and Chemicals from the 70's and before. We all know this but no cleanup is proposed including "superfund" sites. We are blind to the destruction of the countries' watershed by Plastics and Chemicals and our High Cancer Risks. No one takes responsibility
https://open.substack.com/pub/doomberg/p/aftermath?r=af3i2&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
The attached article from Doomberg is worth a read. Important to note that Doomberg was lit up on Twitter for daring to write this. The conclusion is that we are currently incapable of having lucid, adult conversations about serious topics
The fact that this author doesn’t know the most basic fact of FEMA response is disturbing:
§§ 5121-5207 (the Stafford Act) §401 states in part that: "All requests for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists shall be made by the governor of the affected state." A state also includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the ...
Which doesn’t excuse Pete Buttigieg’s delayed presence on site....he should have been there immediately
Read my legal analysis of the train disaster here: “The Environmental Disaster that Keeps on Giving”
https://open.substack.com/pub/profvictoria/p/environmental-damage-that-keeps-on?r=bpwpi&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
The people of East Palestine have been ignored by a government that continues to shower billions on a corrupt regime in Ukraine, leading the world closer to World War III. Unfortunately, within four weeks, the majority if the American population will have forgotten the people of East Palestine. Shameful, but true.
Read this: https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/february-25-2023?r=87p4f&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
These people have been abandoned by a USG that continues bro shower billions of dollars on a corrupt government in Ukraine. Within 4 weeks, the .majority of the population of the United States will forget about them. Shameful.
The derailment was caused by an overheated bearing on a railcar.
Unions are right to fear more accidents as railroads increase the length of trains and consider reducing the number of crew members from two to only one. Not to mention the absolutely horrific scheduling rules for crews that deprive them of proper rest between calls, keep them away from home for extended periods, don't allow them to even plan their own lives, and penalize them for taking needed off days.
The tank cars containing vinyl chloride evidently did not explode. The tank cars were properly designed to contain the contents in a derailment. However, the relief valves plugged as the vinyl chloride started to polymerize. There will need to be reconsideration of the proper relief devices for chemicals like VC, if the current ones in use can get plugged.
Somehow the temperature inside the VC cars started rising, and the conclusion was drawn that the VC was polymerizing inside the tank car. Then there was fear the rising temp could result in a BLEVE. This is why the decision was made to dump the contents and burn it off. A BLEVE could have leveled the town.
Shipping of VC needs to be restudied to understand how polymerization can be initiated inside the tank car and mitigation techniques developed and implemented.
Emergency braking systems need to be studied and perfected. The emergency brakes activated once the railcars came off the tracks and air hoses came apart, per the design intent, but railcars still rolled. If this design still results in additional cars coming off the rails and spilling hazardous contents, we need to go back to the drawing board to improve this system. This is the intent of the ECP brakes. Not saying that's the right answer, but it's good someone was thinking of improving what we have and coming up with options.
Vinyl chloride is nasty stuff. We need better procedures for getting rid of it in accidents such as this. Releasing it and burning it needed to be done in this case, but it produced hazardous byproducts (hydrochloric acid gas and some phosgene). We need a better way.
All in all, this incident has provided a long list of deficiencies that need correcting/improving.
I'm very confident all the men out there cleaning up this mess are doing their best with a pretty lousy situation. We owe a debt to those men that agree to go onto the front lines in situations like this, doing jobs none of the rest of us would dare touch.
Thank you for reporting on this. I grew up an hour from here and when the woman mentions playing in the streams I choked up. That was my childhood too. I read comments from locals who say they don't trust anyone now so even if the water was safe how would they have the trust to even believe it? That's a really bad place for this country to be in. My condolences go out to the people of East Palestine.
If you think this administration's indifference to the East Palestine situation has nothing to do with the fact that it's Trump country and largely working-class white, I've got a bridge to sell you. The Democratic operatives who run the administration know the residents won't vote for a Democrat regardless. It smacks of Katrina in reverse. Where is the outrage from the media?
Good reporting. Good pictures. Thanks.
Trump almost completely dismantled the EPA. The brain drain is nearly complete. He installed at the highest levels, not only climate deniers, but people who wanted all regs designed to protect the air we breathe, the land we farm and the water we drink and swim in, to disappear. Trump and the Republicans want the federal bureaucracy completely dismantled, because, in their minds, these are "unelected officials" who make onerous rules with which businesses have a difficult time coping. In addition to that, Trump's Supreme Court is firmly on the side of dismantling federal efforts to protect our land, air and water. The Court wants to leave these issues to the states, which, in their eagerness to attract business, create a business environment of no oversight. So, states choose regulation through fear of lawsuits, which is hardly an efficient model for keeping us safe from toxic chemicals. We all hate the government, and all its onerous, expensive, inconvenient environmental rules, that is, until a train,loaded with toxic chemicals, derails in our backyards. Blaming the current administration for this mess is missing the larger picture. How ironic that Trump shows up now. He may as well throw the Palestine residents a roll of paper towel.
When I forwarded this article to my sister, I was told:
“This article is sharing the narrative that has been developed and is being amplified by Fox - it’s another layer of white replacement grievance. Ruth Ben-Ghiat offers good insight into how these narratives take hold - its too bad facts and real policy get obscured so quickly in today’s political climate.”
An eastern elite cancel culture progressive living in Concord MA.
I’m still not sure of the meaning of “white replacement grievance” much less how it plays into a train derailment in rural Ohio.
Someone please help me. 🤷🏻♂️
Jesus. White replacement grievance? I am the furthest thing from right wing and I probably disagree with most commenters here on most issues. That being said, it's disgusting to me to look at a disaster like this and say that people's legitimate worries about their own health are nothing but "white replacement grievance." Like, is she implying that that is the case any time a white person fears their own death? Should these people be happy they're going to die of cancer because every time a white person dies it means American demographics are becoming more favorable to the Democrats?
I am from a rich coastal liberal town similar to Concord, MA and the attitude people in my hometown have towards middle America is shameful. For people who love to talk about empathy and compassion they have very little of either when it's applied to those icky white people in flyover country. My distaste for this attitude is what led me to news outlets like The Free Press despite being liberal myself. I cannot stand watching these people dehumanize their fellow Americans, particularly when they live lives of extraordinary wealth and privilege compared to the people they're denigrating. Absolutely loathsome.
Sounds like the Biden administration is not complying with their Justice 40 initiative
Uncle Joe apparently wants to do for the rest of the world what his Transportation Department has done for East Palestine. At least the citizens of East Palestine can be grateful they weren't nuked...not yet at least.