Airborne toxic event: East Palestine, Ohio

[Winehole23]

Vinyl Chloride boils at 8°F and breaks down into HCL and phosgene gas on contact with water/water vapor. About a million pounds of vinyl chloride were spilled or burned off.

The derailment was reportedly caused by a failed axle.


Investigators are now examining what happened when the train, with its axle on fire, passed through the detector in Salem — 20 miles and more than an hour before arriving in East Palestine.https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2023/02/10/east-palestine-train-derailment-video-fire-axle-alert/stories/202302100070


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FozAt-2XoAAy_U1?format=jpg&name=large

1625336020605751298

1625338613058912256

[Winehole23]

Railroaders point the finger at Precision Scheduled Railroading, bad blocking and cursory safety checks.


In order to mitigate in-train forces, railroads prior to PSR would build trains with the heavier cars on the head end and the lighter cars on the rear end. This prevents severe slack run-ins and run-outs throughout the trip and if the train’s emergency brakes are applied, you don’t have heavier cars running into lighter cars which causes jackknifing. This particular train had 40% of it’s weight on the rear 1/3 of the train. Most of this tonnage was made up of loaded tank cars which are very heavy and slosh back and forth when coming to a sudden stop. This sloshing after a stop can continue the pushing of more cars off a track in a jackknifing situation which is what occurred in this Ohio wreck. This block of tank cars was placed directly behind a block of cars that were in the middle of train which were equipped with cushioned draw bars. The draw bars on these cars slide in and out independent of the car body which helps protect the merchandise carried within from damage. These type of draw bars are usually on automobile carriers to prevent the cars/trucks inside from being damaged. Placing cars with these draw bars in the middle of a train creates elasticity. Building a train like this (Head end = locomotives, which are the heaviest part of any train, followed by heavy mixed freight loads, followed by a block of cushioned draw bar cars, followed by a block of heavy tank cars (such as the case with this 32N) is akin to placing two bowling balls on the ends of a rubber band and praying the rubber band doesn’t break.

Video footage has emerged online (see video link below) showing one of the wheels on this train on fire as it passed by the camera. If this footage is authentic, it’s very likely that car caused the derailment. This damaged car apparently was allowed to leave its initial terminal because it wasn’t inspected properly due to car inspectors being laid-off and time allowed per car inspection being dramatically reduced by the industry. If this did indeed occur this way, the train would’ve gone into emergency and the heavy tank cars on the rear end would’ve slammed into the derailed cars causing the 50 cars to pile up off the track and catch fire.

"Precision Scheduled Railroading" is more than likely a major culprit in this incident for the following reasons:

-- Inspection times have been cut resulting in the defective car remaining in the consist.
-- Train was excessively long and heavy… 151 cars, 9300 feet, 18,000 tons.
-- Train was not blocked properly because PSR calls for limited car dwell times in terminals. Blocking a train for proper train handling (placing the majority of weight on the head end and ahead of cushioned draw bars) takes longer so this practice has been mostly eliminated by the rail carriers.
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Special-Report--Monster-Train-Wreck-in-Ohio.html

[Winehole23]

From a legal standpoint, the NS train was not a "high hazard flammable train."


The vast majority of the nation’s trains continue to rely on a braking system (https://www.wweek.com/news/2016/06/23/federal-report-blames-oil-train-derailment-caused-partly-by-brake-system-from-the-civil-war-era/) first developed in 1868 (https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=39130). Trains equipped with these traditional air brakes make emergency stops more slowly and with higher rates of damage than trains equipped with ECP brakes, according to both safety advocates (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/505b96a8c4aa40a37a143c49/t/5ae4dfe470a6adc5610e23fa/1524948964982/%234+-+Resolution+in+Support+of+ECP+Brakes.pdf) and the Federal Railroad Administration (https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/fra_net/1602/ecp_report081106.pdf).



While air brakes stop train cars individually, as air pressure moves sequentially from one car to the next, ECP brakes operate using an electronic signal and can stop an entire train much faster.

https://www.levernews.com/rail-companies-blocked-safety-rules-before-ohio-derailment/

[Winehole23]

Synchronicity to the max

1625373186337521664

[boutons_deux]

https://prospect.org/economy/how-americas-supply-chains-got-railroaded/

predatory, extractive Capitalism: shittiest possible product for highest possible price

[baseline bum]

My favorite part of the story is the train company offering the city $25,000.

[Winehole23]

My favorite part of the story is the train company offering the city $25,000.$5 per resident. A bigger gift might have suggested responsibility, I guess.

[boutons_deux]

https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/110y0r7/psa_to_check_realtime_air_quality_near_you_ohios

[Ef-man]

My favorite part of the story is the train company offering the city $25,000.

I hear a used/stolen fur coat will win them over.

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1623067196871045125

[Robz4000]

I hear a used/stolen fur coat will win them over.

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1623067196871045125

:lol weren't the fur coats also taken back right after the photoshoot?

[RandomGuy]

:lol weren't the fur coats also taken back right after the photoshoot?

EYup.

Also a shocker: coats were stolen/looted from Kherson region.

Russia in a microcosm.

[boutons_deux]

Fox News claiming Biden is doing nothing because environmental disaster is in Repug country

has the governor declared an emergency and requested Federal help?

The state has its own Environmental agency and National Guard.

[SpursforSix]

No reason to blame Dems or Reps. It's just a colossal disaster that everyone in charge might try to cover up. And there might not be a solution that's economically feasible to government. The real solution might be to have all these people move. And it's a shitload of people.

[velik_m]

https://fortune.com/2018/09/24/train-explosion-prevention-rule-reversed-by-trump-officials/

[boutons_deux]

Trains de-regulated, a fucking disaster, bought by Capitalists and sucked dry.

Trucking de-regulated, a fucking disaster, truckers can't make a good living

Airlines de-regulated, a fucking disaster, they all bankrupted

Finance de-regulated / un-regulated, a fucking disaster, eg, 2008 Banksters' Great Depression

neoliberalism, a fucking disaster for the non-oligarchy

SCOTUS probably will gut the Exec branch,

IRS/SEC/EPA/FCC/FAA/FBI/CDC/etc all UNConstitutional,

in violation of the "non-delegation clause"

[boutons_deux]

"EPA investigators said they found other hazardous material-containing cars “derailed, breached and/or on fire.”
They also found

industrial solvents ethylene glycol monobutyl ether — which can be absorbed through the skin and harms the liver and kidneys — and

ethylhexyl acrylate, another known carcinogen that harms the lungs and nervous system.

The EPA has warned that

these chemicals are still being released "to the air, surface soils, and surface waters."

Sulphur Run, the creek that runs through East Palestine, connects through other waterways to the Ohio River.

Last week, officials in Weirton, W.Va., detected butyl acrylate — another chemical listed among the burning cars — though they aren’t sure if it came from the spill upriver, "

-- The Hill email

[Winehole23]

No reason to blame Dems or Reps. Disagree 100%, there's plenty of blame to go around.

[Winehole23]

It's just freaking absurd to suggest no one bears responsibility for an entirely man-made environmental disaster.

Norfolk Southern deserves blame for skimping on safety and staff, Trump deserves blame for watering down regulations, and Biden deserves blame for the lame emergency response and not beefing up the regulations when he had the majorities in Congress to do it. Railroad safety re: hazardous materials isn't a brand new problem.

[Winehole23]

Presumably the State of Ohio isn't responsibility free, what has it done to help?

[SpursforSix]

Disagree 100%, there's plenty of blame to go around.

yeah. You got it. My bad.

[boutons_deux]

Presumably the State of Ohio isn't responsibility free, what has it done to help?

Repug OHIO, neoliberal, unregulated, everybody do self-regulation as in "personal (corporate) responsibility"

Has OH declared a disaster? no, has he asked for FEMA, no. Evac over, everybody go back to polluted East Palestine, nothing to see here.

[boutons_deux]

The environmental awakening of Tucker Carlson (https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=1664&post_id=102952617&utm_source=post-email-title&isFreemail=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyNDA1MTg1LCJwb3N0X2lkIjoxMDI5 NTI2MTcsImlhdCI6MTY3NjQ2MDc0OSwiZXhwIjoxNjc5MDUyNz Q5LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMTY2NCIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rp b24ifQ.OkBGObY3HRON7iyDfsqO6N4GKc_v26Pd2y2ykTkIb8M )
"a representative from the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, arrived to restore calm.

Yes, an EPA spokesman explained chemicals from the derailed train did enter the local watershed and

yes, they did kill fish, but the drinking water supply remains totally safe.
According to Carlson, the EPA is "not too concerned" about the incident because there is no connection to climate change and, therefore, it can not be used "to sell solar panels."

Further, Carlson claims the Biden administration is uninterested because "Donald Trump got over 71 percent of the vote in the county in the last presidential election." "

-- Popular Information email

Now EPA good, while Trash's EPA administrator was sent to destroy the EPA

[diego]

i came across this vid:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2-fdkGsnf4

and that made me do a search on precision scheduled railroading and i found lots of reporting from the past 1-2 years, full of workers predicting an event like this one.

Im amazed its not a bigger scandal, the replies on this thread seem to confirm resignation.. politics has real consequences that go well beyond making fun of the other side, but apparently thats the only thing people care for these days...

[boutons_deux]

"bad faith" politics has real consequences, causing death and destruction to people and the planet.

"people" is too broad

There are people and politicians of good faith and they are in the majority

America's fatal problem is that there are people and politicians of unstoppable bad faith.

They are in the minority, but are intensely activated, very well financed by the Capitalist fascist oligarchy, exert control through rigged politics and the fucked up Constitution


They have fucked America into unfuckability and are unstoppable

[pgardn]

There are clearly critical segments of our industrial complex that require some sort of GOVERNMENT REGULATION.

But the red team claims the government is horrible at regulating anything and everything.
”Is this how you would run your railroad at home?” Stupid ass questions like government is your household…
Or the government regulating railroads to some standard is communism. This does not mean the government will solve all of these problems, but it does mean someone besides a hedge fund manager is responsible for maintaining critical infrastructure.

[Winehole23]

Im amazed its not a bigger scandal, the replies on this thread seem to confirm resignation.. politics has real consequences that go well beyond making fun of the other side, but apparently thats the only thing people care for these days...One of the reasons people admire and envy corporate wealth in this country is because it confers relative legal impunity for deadly and sociopathic conduct. People getting poisoned and killed in entirely avoidable industrial accidents is part of the logic of the system -- in principle, all our lives are disposable to serve the privileges of ownership and the convenience of their customers. Any notion of public safety has been submerged by the companies who write regulations and pay for political campaigns (muh profits! muh shareholders!) If they can get us fixated on blaming Rs or Ds for systemic problems, they've basically won the game.

[Winehole23]

Plastics are booming and will continue to.


Over the last decade, with the rise of fracking and the subsequent boom in U.S. oil and gas production, fossil fuel companies have turned to plastic production as a way to capitalize on cheap (until recently) oil and gas. Researchers at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, projected that global plastics production would roughly quadruple (https://www.gtap.agecon.purdue.edu/resources/res_display.asp?RecordID=6073) from 407 million tonnes a year to 1,600 million tonnes in 2050.The consequences of the growth are felt most acutely by communities on the front lines of fossil fuel production and refining — such as the Gulf Coast, which has seen a massive buildout of petrochemical facilities — and in towns like East Palestine that reside along pipeline and railroad routes.https://grist.org/transportation/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-plastics/

[baseline bum]

Im amazed its not a bigger scandal, the replies on this thread seem to confirm resignation.. politics has real consequences that go well beyond making fun of the other side, but apparently thats the only thing people care for these days...

Because there's little difference between the two parties on holding corporations accountable and it would likely take violent revolution and writing a good constitution to change it in a nation where speech is mostly limited to those with money.

[Adam Lambert]

Easier to distract us by inventing scandals like rapist trannies invading your daughter's bathrooms.

[lefty]

Government trying to distract people from that accident with fake chinese balloons or UFO reveals :lol

[Spurs Homer]

Keep voting republican!

Trump De-regulated everything

stop crying now- it was a yuuuge win because team red de-regulated everything and told you to your face-

the rich/powerful/corporations/ will get richer and the planet will keep getting destroyed and YOU are expendable!

yay!

You cheered for trumps - win!

keep voting republican- keep getting fucked

people who are not BILLIONAIRES- and still vote republican are like chickens voting for colonel sanders

[boutons_deux]

...

[Winehole23]

Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said air quality testing shows it is the same as it was before. But Tiffani Kavalec, chief of Division of Surface Water for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA), said they’re watching the cloud and how it could affect water systems.


“We know that there is a plume moving down the Ohio River,” Kavalec said.


Kavalec said water systems are being shut down as that plume goes over an area and testing is taking place to make sure the water is safe.https://www.wyso.org/2023-02-14/ohio-officials-say-air-quality-in-east-palestine-is-fine-but-not-to-drink-the-water

[SpursforSix]

One of the reasons people admire and envy corporate wealth in this country is because it confers relative legal impunity for deadly and sociopathic conduct. People getting poisoned and killed in entirely avoidable industrial accidents is part of the logic of the system -- in principle, all our lives are disposable to serve the privileges of ownership and the convenience of their customers. Any notion of public safety has been submerged by the companies who write regulations and pay for political campaigns (muh profits! muh shareholders!) If they can get us fixated on blaming Rs or Ds for systemic problems, they've basically won the game.

In a nutshell. The big corps have so much influence now that it doesn't matter what the average Joe says or does. Most politicians at the higher level have had to suck someone's dick. They're just trying to make money and have a job. There's nothing inherently altruistic about being a senator or congressman.

[koriwhat]

Keep voting republican!

Trump De-regulated everything

stop crying now- it was a yuuuge win because team red de-regulated everything and told you to your face-

the rich/powerful/corporations/ will get richer and the planet will keep getting destroyed and YOU are expendable!

yay!

You cheered for trumps - win!

keep voting republican- keep getting fucked

people who are not BILLIONAIRES- and still vote republican are like chickens voting for colonel sanders

:lmao

[Winehole23]

In a nutshell. The big corps have so much influence now that it doesn't matter what the average Joe says or does. Most politicians at the higher level have had to suck someone's dick. They're just trying to make money and have a job. There's nothing inherently altruistic about being a senator or congressman.Not inherently, no.

But the government can serve the public weal, when it decides to. Consider the CARES Act, Project Warp Speed and the ACA child credit. Our government kept our heads above water during the global demand shock and social dislocations that accompanied the onset of COVID, and delivered powerful (though not durable) protection against it. Besides protecting corporate profits and the corresponding counterstream of campaign cash, we the people qua government can solve problems collectively that individually we could not. It's sort of what government is for.

[Winehole23]

That said, where's our Warp Speed 2.0? COVID is making our toolbox passé.

[Winehole23]

1625999952638771201

[Winehole23]

Apparently, train fires can be hard to detect. Good thing 32N was only carrying non-hazardous materials.


The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the incident. Tuesday, it released a statement saying the rail car that started the derailment has been identified and an overheated wheel bearing is being probed as a potential cause.

Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing (https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-train-derailment/what-caused-the-train-derailment/)in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment.

A video captured by a security camera at Butech Bliss (https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-train-derailment/video-shows-train-glowing-20-miles-from-train-derailment-site/), an industrial equipment company in Salem that is about 20 miles before the derailment site, showed what appears to be a fiery axle.

A company representative said the video was captured at 8:12 p.m. on Feb. 3, which was about 43 minutes before (https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=15933) a Norfolk Southern train went off the tracks in East Palestine at 8:55 p.m.
https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-train-derailment/report-norfolk-southern-employees-concerned-by-size-of-derailed-train/

[pgardn]

There have to be other lines of business besides the transport of toxic materials while not giving a shit that hedge fund managers can manage.
There needs to be an example set here. If you deregulate and poison a city, the funds that control that business are going bankrupt. The government can do better than this and can pay off the damages.

[SpursforSix]

There have to be other lines of business besides the transport of toxic materials while not giving a shit that hedge fund managers can manage.
There needs to be an example set here. If you deregulate and poison a city, the funds that control that business are going bankrupt. The government can do better than this and can pay off the damages.

Not enough money for that. This is a billion dollar problem on it's own. They'll never punish BigCorp enough to make it not worth it. I think by this point, regardless of political affiliation, we all know that corporations will fuck us all the way.

[Winehole23]

DeWine, a second-term Republican, said he had been contacted after the disaster by President Joe Biden, who, he said, offered any necessary federal assistance. Said DeWine at the Tuesday news briefing: “Look, the president called me and said, ‘Anything you need.’ I have not called him back after that conversation. We will not hesitate to do that if we’re seeing a problem or anything, but I’m not seeing it.”https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ohios-dewine-says-he-has-not-taken-up-biden-on-offer-of-anything-you-need-in-wake-of-train-derailment-disaster-adf4c949

[Winehole23]

whew, what a relief

1625962388603404288

[SpursforSix]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ohios-dewine-says-he-has-not-taken-up-biden-on-offer-of-anything-you-need-in-wake-of-train-derailment-disaster-adf4c949

The more troubling question is what do we not know. It doesn't take a train derailment to poison tens of thousands of people. Dupont and Monsanto have been doing this for years. Not to mention BigPharma.

[Winehole23]

Texas related

https://grist.org/project/accountability/koch-oxbow-port-arthur-texas-clean-air-act-pollution/

[Winehole23]

The more troubling question is what do we not know. It doesn't take a train derailment to poison tens of thousands of people. Dupont and Monsanto have been doing this for years. Not to mention BigPharma.Probably longer


“These companies got away with poisoning people for more than a half century,” Rouda said.https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/12/15/toxic-3m-knew-its-chemicals-were-harmful-decades-ago-but-didnt-tell-the-public-government/

[Winehole23]

1626331202742370308

[Winehole23]

Once these chemicals get into the groundwater, not much can be done. This is a map of contamination in St. Paul, MN.

1603063811476529154


There are currently about 3,000 product liability lawsuits over toxic PFAS effects pending nationwide, each involving similar allegations that the companies failed to warn about the long-term health risks from exposure to the chemicals.

https://www.aboutlawsuits.com/3m-pfas-contamination-settlement/

[Winehole23]

https://response.epa.gov/sites/15933/files/TRAIN%2032N%20-%20EAST%20PALESTINE%20-%20derail%20list%20Norfolk%20Southern%20document.p df

[Winehole23]

1626613695345311745

1626622824654798848

[Ef-man]

1626613695345311745

1626622824654798848




They could import water in from Flint, MI.

The boil water advisory was lifted.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/flint-faces-another-citywide-water-problem/ar-AA17ndZm

[Winehole23]

On Feb. 10, the EPA sent a letter (https://response.epa.gov/sites/15933/files/Norfolk%20Southern%20East%20Palestine%20Train%20De railment%20General%20Notice%20Letter%202.10.2023.p df) to Norfolk Southern Railway Company reporting five toxic chemicals found in air, soil, or water surrounding the crash site. They are: vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol, isobutylene, and ethylhexyl acrylate.

https://www.statnews.com/2023/02/21/east-palestine-train-chemicals/ (https://www.statnews.com/2023/02/21/east-palestine-train-chemicals/)

[SnakeBoy]

They love the President

1628480058355511298

[ChumpDumper]

They love the President

1628480058355511298

But you guys said there's no problem there.

Trump inspecting his handiwork.:tu

[SpursforSix]

It's concerning. It seems like if anyone wanted to create chaos, fucking up a train rail would pretty simple.

[Adam Lambert]

They love the President

1628480058355511298

Unemployed man finds time for photo op before sitting President and transportation secretary, breaking news!

:lol sycophant

[Ef-man]

Unemployed man finds time for photo op before sitting President and transportation secretary, breaking news!

:lol sycophant

Is he unveiling his health care plan or explain how Mexico will pay for the wall?

Or is he just there to throw paper towels at the crowd?

[Spurs Homer]

They love the President

1628480058355511298


Imagine how stupid one has to be to not know -
that trump -DE-REGULATING the train industry caused this accident and

not knowing that after 7 years - trump is playing the stupid - again - for fools - again!

[Millennial_Messiah]

They could import water in from Flint, MI.

The boil water advisory was lifted.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/flint-faces-another-citywide-water-problem/ar-AA17ndZm
Fire both Whitmer & DeWine and replace them with ..... John Gibbs & JR Majewski :tu

[SpurForLife]

Fire both Whitmer & DeWine and replace them with ..... John Gibbs & JR Majewski :tu

No Thanks :td

[daboom1]

https://twitter.com/sav_says_/status/1628764274695802881?t

[boutons_deux]

toxic chemicals from the cleanup being transported to Harris county for deep well injection

[Ef-man]

toxic chemicals from the cleanup being transported to Harris county for deep well injection

And Hotwheels will welcome them as he takes the money.

C'est la vie.

[daboom1]

Imagine how stupid one has to be to not know -
that trump -DE-REGULATING the train industry caused this accident and

not knowing that after 7 years - trump is playing the stupid - again - for fools - again!

https://i.ibb.co/rG6Gd5m/20230225-042447.jpg

Get debunked nerd.

[ChumpDumper]

https://i.ibb.co/rG6Gd5m/20230225-042447.jpg

Get debunked nerd.

You believe this fact checking site.:tu

[Spurs Homer]

https://i.ibb.co/rG6Gd5m/20230225-042447.jpg

Get debunked nerd.

So - NO HAZARDOUS materials/

Great

those trumpers can STFU up then and so can the traitor
since this is a yuuge nothing-berger!

[Winehole23]

According to the Ohio EPA, approximately 2.7 million gallons of liquid wastewater have been hauled out of East Palestine in total. (Note: Yesterday's reported estimate of 3.2 million gallons should have read 2.5 million.)

Approximately 230,000 gallons have been shipped to Vickery Environmental in Vickery, Ohio, to be disposed of through deep well injection.
Approximately 2.1 million gallons have been shipped to Texas Molecular in Deer Park, Texas, to be disposed of through deep well injection.
Approximately 320,000 gallons have been hauled to Detroit Industrial Well in Romulus, Michigan to be disposed of through deep well injection.
The Ohio EPA reports that approximately 1,970 tons of solid waste have also left the derailment site.

Approximately 290 tons have been hauled to Ross Incineration Services in Grafton, Ohio, to be incinerated.
Approximately 800 tons have been hauled to Heritage Thermal Services in East Liverpool, Ohio, to be incinerated.
Approximately 440 tons have been shipped to U.S. Ecology Wayne Disposal in Belleville, Michigan, to be placed in a landfill.
Approximately 440 tons have been hauled to Heritage Environmental Services in North Roachdale, Indiana to be placed in a landfill.https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/In-The-News/In-The-News/Article/East-Palestine-updates-released/2/20/88577

[Winehole23]

"DEI policies at Norfolk Southern may have caused the derailment"

1633487321810051072

[boutons_deux]

Capitalists sucking down the wealth in the many $Bs while "external costs" are horrendous

"The Democrats’ letter, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (https://thehill.com/people/jamie-raskin/)(Md.), focused on the company’s history of cutting staff and operating costs while sending

$18 billion to shareholders since 2018.

As its dividend payouts and stock buybacks increased, Norfolk Southern began “simultaneously scaling back its workforce and running longer, heavier trains in an apparent effort to reduce costs,” "

https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/3886234-democrats-call-for-answers-from-nortfolk-southern-on-east-palestine-derailment (https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/3886234-democrats-call-for-answers-from-nortfolk-southern-on-east-palestine-derailment/?email=467cb6399cb7df64551775e431052b43a775c749&emaila=12a6d4d069cd56cfddaa391c24eb7042&emailb=054528e7403871c79f668e49dd3c44b1ec00c7f611b f9388f76bb2324d6ca5f3&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=03.08.23%20JB%20The%20Hill%20Sustaina bility%20Template)

[Winehole23]

Two soil samples in East Palestine measured as high as 700ppt, the federal "safe" level is 1000ppt.


EPA scientists in 2010 put the cancer risk threshold for dioxins in residential soil at 3.7 ppt, and the agency recommended lowering the cleanup trigger to 72 ppt.

“When you run the numbers and do your best state-of-the-art risk calculations, that’s the number you get for the cancer risk,” said Stephen Lester, a toxicologist who has researched dioxins for 40 years and is science director for the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. “That’s why dioxins are described as one of the most toxic chemicals ever created.”

The rules were ultimately killed ”for political reasons”, Lester said. Exposure to that level of dioxin is probably widespread, and making the change would create fallout that would be extremely difficult for the government to manage, he added.

Instead of making adjustments for the high risk of these chemicals, they dropped it, they just walked away from it
“Instead of making adjustments for the high risk of these chemicals, they dropped it, they just walked away from it, and that’s the crazy part of this story,” Lester said. Now the EPA can legally claim the levels in East Palestine are safe, even if agency science has suggested it is not.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/17/norfolk-southern-derailment-east-palestine-ohio-carcinogenic-chemical-levels

[boutons_deux]

CDC Officers Became Sick While Assessing Contamination in East Palestine

The reports add "confirmation that

the symptoms reported by East Palestine residents are real and

are associated with environmental exposures from the derailment and chemical fire,"


https://www.commondreams.org/news/east-palestine-cdc-sick (https://www.commondreams.org/news/east-palestine-cdc-sick)

[Winehole23]

In the immediate aftermath of Norfolk Southern’s train derailment in East Palestine in early February, reporters, first responders and officials seemed confused about exactly what chemicals were even in the train’s burning cars. Yet, right on cue, despite not knowing what effects the various chemicals could have within an explosive situation, the EPA reported that the surrounding air and water was safe to breathe and drink.

As more reports trickled out, we learned the train cars were carrying at least five toxic chemicals (https://www.statnews.com/2023/02/21/east-palestine-train-chemicals/#:~:text=On%20Feb.%2010%2C%20the%20EPA,%2C%20isobu tylene%2C%20and%20ethylhexyl%20acrylate.): (https://www.statnews.com/2023/02/21/east-palestine-train-chemicals/#:~:text=On%20Feb.%2010%2C%20the%20EPA,%2C%20isobu tylene%2C%20and%20ethylhexyl%20acrylate.) vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and isobutylene. According to government and scientific data, exposure to these chemicals can cause multiple forms of cancer and other serious health issues. But Norfolk Southern failed to initially disclose (https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/02/17/roaming-charges-82/) those chemicals as highly hazardous, and first responders — not to mention the public — had little idea what they were dealing with.
Three days after the derailment, on Feb. 6, we watched as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, in consultation with Norfolk Southern representatives, greenlighted a plan (https://www.yourerie.com/video/full-press-conference-gov-dewine-announces-plan-for-controlled-release-in-east-palestine-train-fire/8366148/) to blow holes in five of the cars containing toxic chemicals, which would lead to a ​“controlled release,” and residents in nearby communities were ordered to evacuate. This decision to release and burn off the chemicals was defended by public officials and Norfolk Southern as the ​“safest way” to handle the situation. The resulting fire’s black plume of smoke, ash and debris, created a toxic pall that hung over the communities for days. EPA tests found the air contaminated with phosgene, hydrogen chloride, VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and particulate matter.

By Feb. 7, according to a Norfolk Southern service alert (https://www.railjournal.com/freight/ns-ohio-derailment-under-investigation-after-hazardous-materials-released/), trains were running through East Palestine again. As thousands of dead fish floated in local waterways, as nearby residents were reporting sickness and dying pets, as untold long-term health and environmental problems lurked in the hazy future, the railroad chugged back to business as usual.

“We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open,” said hazardous materials expert and retired Youngstown, Ohio Fire Chief Sil Caggiano (https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-train-derailment/3-additional-chemicals-discovered-on-east-palestine-train-derailment/).

https://inthesetimes.com/article/east-palestine-norfolk-southern-train-derailment-chemical-spill-environmental-disaster

[Winehole23]

Reached by phone, Brown, who last week visited East Palestine for the fourth time since the derailment, says the picture is not as sunny as the one painted by Shaw and other Norfolk Southern officials.


"Too many people are still getting sick. Too many worry about their farms or even their gardens," Brown said. "They worry about their homes losing value. They worry about what happens after two or five or 10 years of breathing this stuff."



While many residents have returned to their homes, hundreds are still living in temporary housing without proper compensation for the displacements, Wright said.

They are concerned about their health and the environment. Wright said a colleague recently found oil slicks in waterways. Families and businesses are struggling and expect more from Norfolk Southern and the EPA.

"Farms are very (plentiful) around us here. So that's a huge issue for people that have crops. And even if their land is OK, unfortunately people are scared to get food now from them. These farms are losing their business," Wright said.
https://www.dispatch.com/story/opinion/editorials/2023/04/23/norfolk-southern-end-ohio-east-palestine-train-derailment-nightmare-now-alan-shaw-sherrod-brown/70130750007/

[Winehole23]

operating a fake charity is presumably optional


A political consultant who acted as U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s 2020 campaign manager and two others have agreed to pay more than $50,000 in restitution and penalties for their roles in operating a phony East Palestine charity in the aftermath of a widely-publicized train derailment.

Under a settlement announced Thursday by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Isaiah Wartman and Luke Mahoney of WAMA Strategies must pay more than $22,000 in restitution to a local food bank, as well as $3,000 in investigative costs and fees to Yost’s office.

Michael Peppel, the co-founder of the fake charity, called the Ohio Clean Water Fund, agreed to pay a $25,000 civil penalty and a lifetime ban on him starting, running or soliciting for any charity in Ohio, according to a Yost release.
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/08/marjorie-taylor-greene-staffer-two-others-agree-to-pay-50000-for-roles-in-east-palestine-charity-scam.html

[Ef-man]

operating a fake charity is presumably optional

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/08/marjorie-taylor-greene-staffer-two-others-agree-to-pay-50000-for-roles-in-east-palestine-charity-scam.html

But is it really a fake charity if they really, really, bigly really believed it was a real charity?

Asking for a Yam Tits looking for a legal defense.

[Winehole23]

keeping affected citizens in the dark seems to be the SOP


However, both during the fire and in the days following, neither Marathon, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, nor the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have answered repeated questions from residents and reporters about which chemicals are being tested for. In the absence of information, residents struggle to assess the potential impacts to their health. While Marathon and other chemical companies are required to submit a letter to the state within seven days of an event detailing the root cause and details about how much chemicals were leaked, companies often request an extension for the report, meaning by the time the information does become available many have moved on.https://lailluminator.com/2023/09/05/marathon-fire/

[Winehole23]

Private equity is taking public safety on a dangerous ride. (http://https://x.com/doctorow/status/1724914511902048714?s=20)

1724914511902048714

[Winehole23]

1724914537701212665

[Winehole23]

snafu


The decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the toxic chemical inside them (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/east-palestine-train-derailment-cleanup-norfolk-southern-critics/) after a freight train derailed in Eastern Ohio last year wasn't justified, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board told Congress (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDfcKlN79AM) Wednesday. But she said the key decision-makers who feared those tank cars were going to explode (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/train-derailment-east-palestine-ohio-evacuation-order/) three days after the crash never had the information they needed.

The vinyl chloride (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-vinyl-chloride-what-other-chemicals-were-on-train-derailed-east-palestine-ohio/) released that day, combined with all the other chemicals that spilled and caught fire after the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have left residents with lingering fears about possible long-term health consequences (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-residents-health-issues-norfolk-southern/).

Experts from the company that made the vinyl chloride inside those tank cars, Oxy Vinyls, were telling contractors hired by Norfolk Southern railroad that they believed that no dangerous chemical reaction was happening, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. But Oxy Vinyls was left out of the command center.

"They informed them that polymerization, they believed polymerization was not occurring, and there was no justification to do a vent and burn," Homendy said. "There was another option: let it cool down."
However, that information was never relayed to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the first responders in charge, she said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/east-palestine-train-derailment-controlled-burn-unnecessary-jennifer-homendy-senate-hearing/

[Millennial_Messiah]

Free East Palestine
Death to Gaza

[Winehole23]

Norfolk Southern was more concerned with reopening the rails than protecting people


The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that a rail car’s defective wheel bearing caused the derailment and subsequent hazardous material release in East Palestine, Ohio, last year.

NTSB investigators said that the derailment occurred when a bearing on a hopper car failed and overheated, leading to the fiery February 3, 2023, derailment in the center of this small Ohio town.

NTSB investigators, speaking at an NTSB board meeting held Tuesday at East Palestine High School, said the decision by the local incident commander three days later to conduct a vent and burn of the contents of the tank cars carrying vinyl chloride monomer was based on incomplete and misleading information provided by Norfolk Southern officials and contractors. The vent and burn was not necessary to prevent a tank car failure, NTSB investigators found.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, a vent and burn procedure should be a last resort, used when a tank car is about to fail. Norfolk Southern rejected three other removal methods and began planning for a vent and burn shortly after the derailment, investigators found.link (https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20240625.aspx)

[MultiTroll]

Norfolk Southern was more concerned with reopening the rails than protecting people

link (https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20240625.aspx)
With their cocks in Gym Jordans and Trumps mouth no doubt.

We'll probably never know how much other cover up shit occured.

[Winehole23]

When government officials lifted an evacuation order for people who lived near the site of a train derailment and toxic spill in East Palestine, Ohio, last year, many homes held on to an odd odor.

It was a sickly-sweet smell, and it evoked comparisons to paint thinner, but fruitier, or maybe potpourri mixed with old perfume.

To reassure residents, the train’s operator, Norfolk Southern, and the US Environmental Protection Agency offered to check the air in homes for chemicals.

More than 600 households signed up. What they didn’t know was that the handheld devices used for the screening couldn’t detect one of the main chemicals spilled from the train — butyl acrylate — at levels that could irritate the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

Case studies of people exposed to butyl acrylate in previous spills have raised questions about whether brief exposures may lead to longer-term health problems.

https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/gettyimages-1259090406.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_144,w_256,c_fill



RELATED ARTICLEA year after a toxic train derailment, cleanup continues and trauma lingers in a divided community
(https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/03/health/east-palestine-derailment-anniversary)
“I would say this is one of the most significant errors associated with the response,” said Dr. Andrew Whelton, an environmental engineer at Purdue University who has done independent testing in East Palestine. “It’s because of this so many people were chemically exposed when they returned.”

Although the EPA and Norfolk Southern’s contractor, CTEH, understood the limitations of the machines, they carried on with the home testing, according to an air testing plan (https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-06/Air%20Sampling%20and%20Analysis%20Plan%20SAP_v2.1_ 20230419-508.pdf) drawn up by CTEH. They relied on smell to pick up on the presence of butyl acrylate at lower levels — although residents weren’t told that odors could indicate chemical exposure, according to an EPA official who answered questions on behalf of the agency on the condition that they not be named.

By the time the EPA adopted a more sensitive test and a lower standard for butyl acrylate, the home screening was nearly complete. People who’d had their homes checked weren’t told about subsequent adjustments to the air testing program and why they were made, according to CTEH and the EPA. They were never offered more indoor air testing.link (https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/09/health/east-palestine-derailment-home-screening/index.html)

[Winehole23]

“When you call, they ask for your address. And if it is outside of that one-by-two-mile radius, they go, ‘OK, sorry, I can’t help you.’ And that’s it,” Flint said, of calling EPA and DEP not long after the derailment. “Even though I understood they weren’t testing in the area, there was just no guidance at all.”link (https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2024/02/east-palestine-train-derailment-health-symptoms-chemicals-pollution/)

[Winehole23]

1836860964928639439https://x.com/dwallacewells/status/1836860964928639439

[Winehole23]

Atlanta area

Shelter in place, residents told to turn air conditioners off

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1840717739578527744/R05r8Q9z?format=jpg&name=900x900

1840709007251583005https://x.com/ajc/status/1840709007251583005

[Ef-man]

Atlanta area

Shelter in place, residents told to turn air conditioners off

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1840717739578527744/R05r8Q9z?format=jpg&name=900x900

1840709007251583005https://x.com/ajc/status/1840709007251583005

Cue the: Boom, secret Chinese/lizard-people overlords biolab, source of covid, disclosed by q and military!!!!

Wake up sheeple before it is too late and hillary/her cabal eat your children in the basement of the biolab!!!!

See, I am not crazy; what do you have to say about that???? Answer me, answer me, answer me.

[Winehole23]

you sound crazy, tbh

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GYu7gz6XgAAClMH?format=jpg&name=large

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GYupSgKXwAAAHJV?format=jpg&name=large

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1840932116865130496/hWsbHgwn?format=jpg&name=small

[Winehole23]

1841334286185869611

https://x.com/DissentFu/status/1841334286185869611

[Winehole23]

the shelter in place order *feels* insane to me -- how well does a house protect people from toxins in the air? they should be evacuated, imho

1843737400536965624

https://x.com/CodyAlcorn/status/1843737400536965624

[Winehole23]

Deer Park again


Shelter-in-place orders were set for two east Texas cities Thursday after a chemical incident killed one person at a gas facility.
Several others were injured, with one person hospitalized when an unknown chemical released at the Shell Pemex facility in Deer Park (https://www.facebook.com/HCSOTexas/), according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Officials later alerted that a shelter-in-place order had been placed both Deer Park and Pasadena due to the release of hydrogen sulfide.
Deer Park and Pasadena are located east of Houston.
"If you are in this area, please go inside, close all windows and doors and turn off the air-conditioner (https://x.com/pasadenatxgov/status/1844521875428258113) until an all-clear is give," the Pasadena Fire Department wrote.
2 Texas cities told to shelter-in-place after fatal chemical release (statesman.com) (https://www.statesman.com/story/news/nation/2024/10/10/shell-pemex-deer-park-shelter-in-place/75619703007/?taid=6708912f03733a000132d135&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter)

[Winehole23]

2 dead, 35 triaged.

Shelter in place lifted

https://x.com/KHOU/status/1844564758256595446

[Winehole23]

god forbid a large company should face accountability for its catastrophic and deadly mistakes

so expensive


On a summer night in 2023, an explosion (https://www.postsouth.com/story/news/local/2023/07/16/explosion-and-fire-at-dow-chemical-in-plaquemine-under-investigation/70418481007/) at one of Louisiana’s biggest petrochemical complexes sent a plume of fire into the sky. More explosions followed as poison gas spewed from damaged tanks at the Dow chemical plant, triggering a shelter-in-place order for anyone within a half mile of the facility, which sprawls across more than 830 acres near Baton Rouge.


For more than a year, a little-known government agency has been investigating the incident. But the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (https://www.csb.gov/) will likely shut down before completing its probes of the Dow explosion and other such incidents across the country. President Donald Trump’s administration has quietly proposed shutting down the board, an independent federal agency charged with uncovering the causes of large-scale chemical accidents.
https://grist.org/energy/trump-quietly-shutters-the-only-federal-agency-that-investigates-industrial-chemical-explosions/

[velik_m]

Trump’s EPA reconsiders Biden’s asbestos ban

The Trump administration will reconsider a regulation that aims to ban or phase out ongoing uses of asbestos.

The Trump administration revealed its plans to reconsider the Biden-era rule in a court filing on Monday.

The filing did not provide additional details on what changes the Trump administration could make, if any, but the last Trump administration did much less to tackle the issue.

Exposure to asbestos causes lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer that occurs in the lining of the lung, chest and the abdomen and heart. Asbestos-related diseases are estimated to kill thousands of Americans each year.

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would require companies to phase out their uses of a type of asbestos known as chrysotile asbestos, which is the only known type of asbestos used in the U.S.

Under its rule, companies making automotive breaks would have six months to stop making products with asbestos, while other industries would have more time. Most sheet gaskets, a type of seal, that contain asbestos will be banned after two years, while the chlor-alkali sector, which makes chemicals like chlorine for treating water, would have up to 12 years to make the change.

The chemical industry sued the EPA over the rule. When Trump took office, his administration asked the court to pause the case while it decided what it wanted to do with the rule.

The administration now says it plans to reconsider the Biden rule through a formal rulemaking process. It said this process, “including any regulatory changes,” could take about 2.5 years.
...


https://thehill.com/homenews/5354968-trump-administration-to-review-asbestos-regulation/

Make Asbestos Great Again

[Winehole23]

https://thehill.com/homenews/5354968-trump-administration-to-review-asbestos-regulation/

Make Asbestos Great Againvice signaling

it's very important to let people know that their government has neither a conscience nor values

nor should a weak-minded regard for the welfare of its constituents becloud its judgment

or temper its aggression