Ohio village of East Palestine - What an environmental mess

The information is really scarce. What's up with that?

This is HORRORIFYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel like I am going to be watching an eight-episode prestige network docuseries about this eventually. For now, it's pretty horrifying.

It’s crazy that this hasn’t been on the news more.

I live about 60-75 miles east of this explosion. People keep sending me increasingly histrionic posts about it, the risk to everyone in a 200 mile radius, etc. This morning I read that I and almost everyone I love have been "Chernobyl'd." (ETA:  Waze says 58 miles as the crow flies.) 

I reached out to my Stanford educated scientist/air quality friend who has made it her life's mission to address air pollution in our area. She said these compounds break down in sunlight. It's a catastrophe for the people in the immediate area of the burn. Probably not so much for anyone outside the immediate area though. She directed me to three local air quality organizations and they are all in agreement that there is not much risk in the air for people outside the immediate area of the crash and burn. I don't know about the water though. If people west are getting water from the Ohio river, the risk seems less clear.

That being said, I'm still low key worried about my pets because they are most at risk in the short term. And I'm really, really glad my kids are on the other side of the country.

I have family members who live in the next town west of East Palestine; thankfully they are out of the country right now.  But I wonder what they are coming home to.     I also have very close family members who are only about 25 miles east of the accident.  I haven't talked to them about their experience yet. 

I saw on TikTok this morning about fish floating on the water and commenting on a reporter that was roughed up and arrested.

I'd like to believe it's not as bad as the dramatic posts/videos I'm seeing, but there doesn't seem to be a great deal of information or transparency on this. Makes me wonder how long before long term health ramifications might be felt.

this is what I'm seeing too..and I wonder if the dead chickens/fish are real or just being used to drum up fear.

I honestly haven't looked into this too deeply as I'm terrified if it is all true. I'm seeing all kinds of stuff and I don't know what to believe. All I know is, it is terrible and my heart goes out to all those affected, both humankind and every living thing are precious.

Here ya go. TFG rolled back the train braking system Obama had put in place..

Check the date...

Trump Admin’s Latest Rail Safety Rollback Sets up Industry to Make Its Own Rules

ByJustin Mikulkaon
May 30, 2019 @ 10:42 PDT

This week, the Trump administration’s Department of Transportation (DOT) withdrew another rail safety recommendation originally proposed during the Obama administration. In the process, the agency made quite clear that it has no plans to further regulate the rail industry, especially the dangerous and continued transportation of oil and ethanol in unsafe tank cars.

The latest proposed rule to be withdrawn would have required two-person crews on trains. Supporters of this rule argue that two-person crews are safer because the job of operating a train is too demanding for one person, new technologies are making the job more complex, and fatigue becomes a more serious issue with only one crew member. Since 2017, the Trump administration has already repealed a regulation requiring modern brakes for oil trains and canceled a plan requiring train operators to be tested for sleep apnea.

In announcing this decision, the DOT‘s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) stated it was “providing notice of its affirmative decision that no regulation of train crew staffing is necessary or appropriate for railroad operations to be conducted safely at this time.”

Sorry I've lost the link somewhere

Another little thing I missed.. MTG did not vote for the infrastructure bill because.... TFG never addressed infrastructure... The bill passed in August 2022. The monies are being distributed, but it takes time to plan the actual work/construction.


During an appearance on Fox New's Tuesday edition of Hannity, Greene claimed that that money targeting rail safety in the U.S. House's bipartisan infrastructure bill was insufficient. And that's why she didn't vote for it.

"We need to make sure that our rails are safe. Democrats passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and only $5 billion went toward rail safety. This is a failure. It would’ve never happened under a Republican-controlled infrastructure bill," Greene said.

www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-train/

I call bullshit

Republicans had control of the entire government for 4 years and refused to address infrastructure at all despite promising to do so.

At least one member of the GOP controlled house has threatened the infrastructure bill over the debt ceiling issue.

I really feel for this community...

I am only 4 hours away and I wonder what direction that smoke went!