The train derailment and release of toxic gasses and refuse into the environment in East Palestine, Ohio, has resulted in air and water contamination and problems. Sick animals and dead wildlife have been reported and pictures of these posted on social media.
A representative from the EPA of the Biden Administration visited the area and declared the air and water “safe” but now says they are monitoring the situation. Other than the EPA, there has been no visit to the site of the disaster by President Biden or other top government officials.
While America celebrated President’s Day, Biden was in the news on a sudden visit to Ukraine to meet with President Zelensky, making news for inscribing in a visitor log how wonderful Zelensky is, and how Biden has heartfelt feelings about Ukraine.
As Biden continues his trip onward to Europe, it is evident his heart is not in East Palestine. Although visiting Ukraine and Poland, Biden currently has no plans to visit the Ohio community.
After waiting more than two weeks to mobilize aid for East Palestine, Ohio, the Biden administration suddenly on Friday announced it would send emergency response teams to East Palestine from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The joint announcement by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine as well the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) came moments after Donald Trump’s announcement on Friday that he is going to the East Palestine community.
Trump will be in East Palestine today, Wednesday, to meet with members of the community and will be donating cleaning supplies and thousands of bottles of water directly to the community, FOX News reports.
As Becker News reports:
Former President Donald J. Trump will not only be traveling to East Palestine, Ohio, the site of an ecological disaster, but he will also be making a big act of generosity towards those who have been left in its wake. Donald Trump will be meeting with members of the community who have been exposed to toxic chemicals following the Norfolk Southern train derailment on February 3rd. He will also be donating more than a dozen pallets of clean bottled water to the community, a spokesperson told Fox News.
Trump is expected to donate “thousands of gallons of cleaning supplies,” along with 13 pallets of water, each holding over a thousand bottles of water, to the East Palestine community.
Trump is teaming up with nonprofit organizations Blue Line Moving and KORTX in order to get the people exposed to the toxic spill the aid they need.
“President Trump is meeting with the citizens of East Palestine and will never forget them and what they are going through,” a Trump advisor told Fox News.
“Contrast that with Biden and the federal government who has failed them from the beginning.” According to the report, the following people will be joining the former president on his visit: East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway; Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH); Rep. Bill Johnson(R-OH); State Rep. Monica Robb-Blasdel; and Ohio State Sen. Michael Rulli, in addition to other statewide and local officials.
There are some who do not agree with the EPA assessment of “safe” environment in East Palestine.
Environmental epidemiologist David Kriebel, who is a professor at the university of Massachusetts Lowell and has worked on environmental disasters including the World Trade Center, told Newsweek that air monitoring conducted by the EPA might not be able to identify certain toxins.
The declaration of “safe” air and dust at the site of the 911 attack has been proved wrong by the sickness and deaths of those who breathed the toxic air during and int he aftermath of that disaster.
Newsweek noted that:
“Most concerning to Kriebel are dioxins, which are toxins formed when vinyl chloride and other chemicals burn. The spilled chemicals, including vinyl chloride, were burned at East Palestine to prevent an explosion which would be caused by the chemicals themselves. “They are not volities, and so will not be an important component of air samples, at least not after the fire has been extinguished. But they will be found in soil, settled dust, sediments, etc,” Kriebel told Newsweek. “The fact that vinyl chloride, a gas that will disperse, is not found at dangerous levels in homes is not at all reassuring because of these non-volatile combustion products.”
The World Health Organization says that dioxin exposure can cause a host of health issues, including skin lesions, altered liver function, and impaired immune system and several forms of cancer, among others.
Ohio Governor DeWine has reported last week that FEMA has deemed the state ineligible for aid from federal resources, but he announced Friday evening that FEMA would, in fact, be providing aid, although that aid is not yet specified. The turnaround in government support came after the announcement of former President Trump’s impending visit to East Palestine.
