{"id":2212146,"date":"2024-04-03T11:39:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T15:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bureaucrats-and-big-business-leave-east-palestine-suffering-a-year-after-train-disaster\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T11:39:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T15:39:24","slug":"bureaucrats-and-big-business-leave-east-palestine-suffering-a-year-after-train-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bureaucrats-and-big-business-leave-east-palestine-suffering-a-year-after-train-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Eastern Palestine Continues to Suffer Post-Train Disaster Due to Bureaucratic and Corporate Neglect"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbureaucrats-and-big-business-leave-east-palestine-suffering-a-year-after-train-disaster%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2212146&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The summary of the text provided talks \u200babout the aftermath \u200dof a train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, where hazardous chemicals were released into the community\u2064 due \u200bto a controlled burn. President Joe Biden&#8217;s delayed response, residents&#8217; health issues,\u2062 lack of support\u2062 from Norfolk Southern, and \u2064community initiatives to address the crisis \u200dare discussed. Ohio&#8217;s junior \u2064U.S. Sen. J.D.\u200c Vance advocates for rail safety legislation\u200d in response to the incident.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>EAST PALESTINE, Ohio \u2014 President Joe Biden plans to visit Baltimore this week following the devastating collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. While the loss of life and devastation of crucial infrastructure certainly warrants a presidential visit, one can\u2019t help but wonder why Biden lacked similar urgency when it came to East Palestine, Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>In February 2023, 38 cars \u2014 several containing hazardous materials, notably vinyl chloride monomer \u2014 on a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in the heart of East Palestine. Fearing these tankers might explode, representatives from Norfolk Southern, along with individuals from the village fire department and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, opted to \u201cvent and burn\u201d the vinyl chloride.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-918044238\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8b21f2eda4a3e3eb1a8ab578af62ddd8 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8b21f2eda4a3e3eb1a8ab578af62ddd8\"><\/div>\n<p>The burn released hazardous chemicals into the community\u2019s air, waterways, and soil. Village residents experienced a slew of concerning health symptoms as a result of the now-unbreathable air and toxified environment. Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes, and local employers had no other option but to close their doors. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"Fo8vhrq9NcZLK23mEw5fQGRDlbTgknpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ratio ratio-16x9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ohio train derailment: Explosion sparks the start of 'controlled release' in East Palestine\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nJyHH8TiKCo?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>This past September, more than eight months after the derailment, President Biden issued an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2023\/09\/20\/executive-order-on-ensuring-the-people-of-east-palestine-are-protected-now-and-in-the-future\/\">executive order<\/a> mobilizing federal agencies to oversee cleanup efforts, monitor environmental and public health consequences, and provide additional resources to members of the affected communities. Biden also called for Norfolk Southern to be held accountable for any wrongdoing it may have committed during the incident. Village residents remain unconvinced, however, that any of this will have a positive effect.<\/p>\n<p>We are now a little over a year removed from the incident. While signs of progress bring cautious optimism for the village\u2019s prospects, numerous questions and concerns remain. Chief among these is how the community continues to cope with the circumstances thrust upon it and, crucially, what preventative measures are being implemented to prevent a similar tragedy from recurring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re still on the path to recovery,\u201d East Palestine Village Manager Chad Edwards told The Federalist. \u201cSome people are still reporting symptoms from the chemicals, but it\u2019s not a large number, which doesn\u2019t make it any less concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-aa37de10ae7eb005a2ee7ef65b3ebf1c fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-aa37de10ae7eb005a2ee7ef65b3ebf1c\"><\/div>\n<p>The village draws its drinking water from an aquifer, so there was never any major concern about contamination, but air quality remains an area of focus. \u201cIt\u2019s very important the people who were here at the time of the derailment aren\u2019t forgotten about in 20 years,\u201d Edwards said, continuing the conversation about health effects. \u201cWhat I\u2019m hearing from the experts at the EPA is that we don\u2019t know if there will be long-term side effects from the air quality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But there are people in the village who are currently facing serious medical issues related to pollution from the controlled burn. Residents still experience health issues from airborne pollution, some people still have physical reactions when they enter homes exposed to chemicals from the burn, and the nearby Beavercreek Watershed has an abundance of signage warning people to \u201ckeep out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chris Albright, an East Palestine resident, began experiencing \u201creally bad headaches\u201d about two weeks after village residents were allowed to move back into their homes following the controlled burn. \u201cAnytime I got close to home, I would just get a horrible headache, and I never get headaches,\u201d he told The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside these headaches, Albright was experiencing random bouts of vomiting and persistent fatigue. Ultimately, his physicians determined he was suffering from rapid-onset congestive heart failure. The chemicals released by the burn are believed to have greatly exacerbated Albright\u2019s condition and contributed to his deteriorating health. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-16fa902f2c4e2ad27b7ed5281c13ef3c fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-16fa902f2c4e2ad27b7ed5281c13ef3c\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not an obese guy; I\u2019m very active,\u201d said Albright, who has little faith in the \u201cexperts\u201d from the government upon whom the community relies for information about air quality. \u201cBecause of this, I\u2019ve been unable to work. I actually lost my health benefits at the end of [2023].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite having a \u201cFamily Resource Center\u201d in the village, Norfolk Southern, the entity responsible for the burn, has not provided Albright any assistance beyond hotel reimbursement. \u201cI have not heard a word from Norfolk Southern,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve never had anybody reach out and never received any correspondence other than how to get reimbursed for our hotel when we had to leave our house [because of the burn].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When speaking with The Federalist, Village Manager Edwards noted that Norfolk Southern was \u201crevamping\u201d the community\u2019s park, a project estimated to cost around $25 million. \u201cI think they\u2019ve done above and beyond what they\u2019ve really had to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Experiences like Albright\u2019s, life-altering circumstances with no assistance, inspired community members to act.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Neifer, the superintendent of East Palestine City Schools, told The Federalist that shortly after the derailment and controlled burn, school leadership delivered various products to people throughout the village, set up community game nights, and \u201cdifferent things to keep kids\u2019 minds off of not having to deal with the adult problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had determined as a team that we were not going to be victims of this,\u201d Neifer said.<\/p>\n<p>Jami Wallace, a lifelong resident of East Palestine who said she has 47 family members living within one mile of the train derailment sight, turned to community organizing when she was told by a toxicologist that her family could become exposed to contaminated creek water through a basement leak. Structuring the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/758398132306434\">East Palestine Unity Council<\/a> (EPUC) after her union, Wallace created the organization so people invested in the community could raise awareness of specific issues they continue to struggle with and fill in the gaps where the government falls short.<\/p>\n<p>The EPUC is a self-declared \u201coversight board\u201d committed to ensuring \u201cthe right of the people to maintain clean air, water, and soil\u201d that aims to represent \u201call members of the [East Paletine] community[] and surrounding areas affected by the derailment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Documents viewed by The Federalist that were sent to the Biden administration by the Government Accountability Project on behalf of the EPUC further detail village residents\u2019 grievances. According to these organizations\u2019 substantiated claims, the EPA refused to test residents\u2019 property for contamination, only tested the polluted area for a small amount of \u201cmore than 100 other dangerous compounds that were formed by the burning,\u201d misled the public about the levels of harmful chemicals in the area, and more.<\/p>\n<p>The organization has already met with several federal officials, including members of the Biden administration. However, perhaps the village\u2019s most committed advocate in government remains Ohio\u2019s junior U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, who <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JDVance1\/status\/1626305927207854089?s=20\">visited the area<\/a> almost immediately after the incident occurred and championed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/avoid-another-east-palestine-train-wreck-before-late\">bipartisan rail safety legislation<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>During a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vance.senate.gov\/press-releases\/ntsb-chair-homendy-chemical-explosion-in-east-palestine-didnt-need-to-happen-experts-were-ignored\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">full committee hearing<\/a> on the National Transporation Safety Board\u2019s (NTSB) Investigations Report last month, Vance got NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy to state on the record that the controlled burn was entirely unnecessary and that Norfolk Southern contractors lacked sufficient evidence justifying the operation. <\/p>\n<p>During Vance and Homendy\u2019s exchange, it was further established, based on previous reports, that following derailment, the vinyl polymers were decreasing in temperature (thus reducing the risk of an uncontrolled explosion); Norfolk Southern was not of the mentality that a chemical reaction resulting in an explosion was imminent, and on-site representatives of the company were properly informed that a controlled burn lacked sufficient scientific basis; and Norfolk Southern representatives disregarded available data and contradicted this expert feedback.<\/p>\n<p>Norfolk Southern, in turn, relayed inaccurate information to the governor of Ohio, who was one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.perplexity.ai\/search\/Who-made-the-1rSihyRDRaWSyzVOd3N0mw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">people responsible<\/a> for authorizing the controlled burn. Had the company\u2019s representatives relayed accurate information, this whole ordeal could have been avoided. In March 2023, the state of Ohio and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/climate-environment\/2023\/03\/31\/doj-sues-norfolk-southern-over-toxic-train-derailment-ohio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Department of Justice<\/a> filed separate suits against Norfolk Southern. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fallout from this highly preventable incident may continue for years to come, and there\u2019s still so much we don\u2019t know about the long-term effects on our air, water and soil,\u201d Ohio AG Dave Yost <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/climate-environment\/2023\/03\/14\/ohio-train-derailment-lawsuit\/\">told<\/a> The Washington Post.<\/p>\n<p>Norfolk Southern did not respond to The Federalist\u2019s multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-bc49a1f4285b36d3e081fd5d778a45de fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-bc49a1f4285b36d3e081fd5d778a45de\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden is set to visit Baltimore after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. The tragedy prompts questions about his response timeliness compared to East Palestine, Ohio<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1185,"featured_media":2212147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Biden-East-Palestine.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2212146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Biden-East-Palestine.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1185"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2212146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2212147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2212146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2212146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2212146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}