After a catastrophic 38-train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment.
The Biden administration has been nowhere to be found in assisting the American people are beginning to panic over the lack of information and assistance they are getting about it, as illnesses in humans in the area and dead animals are being reported in an increasing pattern.
Even though the federal agency has been alerted to the problems, they are not doing anything about the situation.
Residents who say they’re still suffering from illnesses nearly a month after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in Ohio confronted the railroad’s operator Thursday at a town forum, demanding to know whether they’d be relocated from homes, they’re afraid to live in.
“It’s not safe here,” said one man, staring straight at representatives of Norfolk Southern. “I’m begging you, by the grace of God, please get our people out of here.”
More than 200 people were in a high school auditorium for the event, CBS Youngstown, Ohio affiliate WKBN-TV reports.
While the railroad announced it was ready to begin moving more contaminated soil from underneath the tracks, buying homes and moving people out of East Palestine hasn’t been discussed, said Darrell Wilson, the railroad’s assistant vice president of government relations.
“Why?” someone shouted.
CBS News reported more details:
Few seemed satisfied with answers they heard about air and water testing from state and federal officials – even after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it was ordering Norfolk Southern to begin testing for dioxins, toxic chemical compounds that can stay in the environment for long periods of time.
Many people remain scared about whether the area will be safe for their children years from now, saying they fear dioxins not yet detected will cause long-term damage. Testing so far by the EPA for “indicator chemicals” has suggested there’s a low chance that dioxins were released from the derailment, the agency said.
Some residents booed, laughed and yelled, “Don’t lie to us,” when Debra Shore, a regional administrator with the EPA, reiterated that tests have continually shown that the village’s air is safe.
People jeered. One woman walked out. One man made a hand signal of excessive talking, WKBN also reported.
Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance, the U.S. senators from Ohio, sent a letter to the state’s environmental protection agency expressing concern that dioxins may have been released when some of the chemicals in the damaged railcars were deliberately burned for safety reasons. They joined residents of the small Midwestern town and environmentalists from around the U.S. calling for state and federal environmental agencies to test the soil near where the tanker cars tipped over, USA Today reported.
On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered rail operator Norfolk Southern to begin testing for dioxins. Testing so far by the EPA for “indicator chemicals” has suggested there’s a low chance that dioxins were released from the derailment, the agency said.
And the Biden administration has also abanded Americans from the Transportation agency as well. according to a new report, workers who are cleaning up the toxic Ohio train derailment are getting sick, based in the railroad union leaders.
Zerohedge reported some details
A top union leader penned a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about a number of rail workers at the Norfolk Southern derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, who have become sick, likely from the toxic chemical spill. CNBC obtained the letter on Wednesday.
Jonathan Long, a union representative for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, titled the letter “Norfolk Southern Is Dangerous to America” and said about 40 workers were ordered by the railway to clean up the wreckage.
Long said workers weren’t given proper personal protection equipment to clean up the toxic wreckage. He said many workers weren’t supplied respirators, protective clothing, or eye protection.
As a result of the chemical exposure, many rail workers “reported that they continue to experience migraines and nausea, days after the derailment, and they all suspect that they were willingly exposed to these chemicals at the direction of [Norfolk Southern].”
Long added, “This lack of concern for the workers’ safety and well-being is, again, a basic tenet of NS’s cost-cutting business model.”
Norfolk Southern released a statement to CNBC about the cleanup effort. They said:
Norfolk was “on-scene immediately after the derailment and coordinated our response with hazardous material professionals who were on site continuously to ensure the work area was safe to enter and the required PPE was utilized, all in addition to air monitoring that was established within an hour.”
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and the Biden administration have ensured adequate measures have been taken to protect residents and surrounding communities from the toxic chemical spill and controlled burn of vinyl chloride.
But perhaps the EPA and government aren’t telling rail workers and residents the truth. That’s because rail workers are getting sick, residents complain about health issues, and animals in state parks are dying.
