I am confused by your comment. I totally understand that accidents happen and life is dangerous. What I meant by marginalized is that the people living in the area, from what little I have read, are not sophisticated or savvy or wealthy people. My impression is there are a lot of farms. This is their livelihood in additon to their home. They don't feel it is safe . Are they supposed to just deal with it? They don't have funds to go to their second home, for example.

No one seems to be addressing this.

In 2013, a train derailed. in Lac Megantic in Quebec. The blast was so loud we heard it in Southern Maine. About 50 were killed, and the town was decimated. Deadly, chemicals ride the rails and most dont pay attention. Changes were suggedted, but are largely not acted upon. Infrastructure should be under oversight, with centralized standards and controls. This applies to aviation, roads, railways,, the electrical grid, access to broadband.

I don't find this surprising at all. Those with little income live in poorer areas and are subject to much greater levels of pollution and risk. This isn't a first and won't be a last.

??? "Marginalized"???? .... Reminds me of MTG saying no one on the ground was killed on 9/11. Same news source I guess. Houzz needs a dislike button.

I know and respect that investigations will take time.

I am more troubled by the lack of help being provided. I know at first people were advised to evacuate, but then they were told it was safe to return home. I may not be totally up on all of this but is there a threshhold for FEMA to get involved? I ask in all earnest. I tried to google but couldn't get an answer.

Before FEMA can get involved, the Ohio governor has to declare a disaster and ask for help.

Also look at other things that I can’t write about here. A search of Environmental Justice might help.

I don't know what is required for FEMA to be called in but from seeing how slowly those wheels grind for people in FL from hurricane Ian and people in Paradise, CA from the Camp fire I would not expect a great deal of help. There needs to be definitive testing done on repeat, not just air quality near the site but soil, surface water, ground water and inside every single structure within a determined radius. The soot and ash from those fires creeps in windows and under doors and is now on surfaces and embedded in fibers and carpets. There is toxic residue everywhere. It's horrible.

I have absolutely seen news coverage about the horrible trail derailment and hazardous spill in Ohio. As well as coverage on a more recent hazardous highway spill in Arizona. So I do think news coverage is happening. Admittedly I'm more often reading rather than watching news.

That said, I am very concerned for the people in Ohio and that their lives and health have been seriously impacted. Unfortunately our nation does have a history of people being poisoned by chemicals through accidents and in many cases the corporations responsible (often negligent) have not always been held responsible. I don't think it's too much to ask that people have access to clean drinking water and toxin free air. I also don't believe people are being unreasonable in asking for help, protection, and ultimately maybe compensation when they are deeply impacted by the accidents or negligence of others. I am not clear on what government resources are assisting, but I sure hope they are. I think there should be questions (and maybe ultimately investigations) around the immediate handling of the spill. Was it the right decision to burn the chemicals? Were procedures followed? Was this truly the least harmful option? I don't really have answers, but I do hope professionals are asking the questions.

I’m no expert, but I believe the governor of an affected state must request FEMA aid by declaring a federal emergency in order to receive it. Regional groups in Ohio and West Virginia are urging governors of the affected states to do so. I don’t understand why they have not. The EPA and National Transportation Safety Board have been involved since it occurred. FWIW I have read about and heard coverage of this event daily since it occurred.

CBS News has stories about the derailment, but there are so many other stories in the news at the same time: Earthquake deaths in Turkey & Syria, Russian attacks on Ukraine, mass shootings happening twice a day, etc. I think that eventually the train derailment will get more coverage, and it certainly deserves it, and I think it will be in the news for months to come, like water in Jackson Mississippi and Flint Michigan. I do not think that the story is being deliberately hidden, but news shows seem to limit the amount of time for each story, except perhaps for CNN.

I hope people will be properly evacuated and compensated for their expenses caused by this, but I know that many do not expect this to happen. The victims are not at fault.

"What I meant by marginalized is that the people living in the area, from what little I have read, are not sophisticated or savvy or wealthy people. My impression is there are a lot of farms. This is their livelihood in addition to their home. "

I understand what you're saying, salonva,, but don't be too quick to judge. I don't know about these people in Ohio, but many farmers are well-educated, and own some very expensive farm equipment instead of a second home.

From what I've heard, this farmland will be unusable for a long time. It seems some genius had the brilliant idea to set the chemical on fire, which caused a toxic gas to spread far and wide. I'm very concerned about these people and everyone who is and will be affected by this disaster. We all need to remember that without these farmers and others like them, we don't have food to eat. Farmers somewhere grow most of what we eat.

Yes, I know the world is dangerous and accidents happen, but that doesn't mean we can't be compassionate when disasters like this occur.

@woodrose I think I read that they made the decision to do a controlled burn of the chemicals in order to prevent an uncontrolled explosion that could have sent shrapnel and uncontrolled toxic chemical release into neighboring residential areas. However, I think so many of us are questioning whether that decision was the right one and whether it has now caused more harm than good. The cars were known to contain vinyl chloride and I'm reading that it become hydrogen chloride and phosgene gas when burned. The latter disrupts the interaction between lungs and the bloodstream and means oxygen can't get into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide can't get out.

I believe the residents were told to evacuate or risk death during the controlled burn. My understanding is that this was deemed (at the time) to be the best of the bad options. But I don't think it came without consequences. And I don't think there is enough data shared yet to determine the long term contamination. I also assume that although people were able to evacuate, livestock probably could not be evacuated during the burn. I'm not clear if the dead livestock were within the area evacuated or beyond that area.

Here is a picture from a passenger flying above the affected area.

Omg, that is so horrifying. :(

When it first happened I exclaimed to my husband that it sounded just like the 'Airborne Toxic Event' in Don DeLillo's White Noise. Absolutely horrifying.

Zalco if that's real that's not only horrifying but damning.

Just read this - these people need the resources to leave NOW. But that does not help the farmers, the livestock, the fox rescue, the wildlife......

smarthernews

“Something is really wrong.”

Misti Allison recalls this feeling on Friday night, Feb. 3rd, after learning of a train derailment just slightly more than a mile from her home in East Palestine, Ohio. Her first concern? For others. "Did someone drive accidentally on the tracks?" she wondered, as she tucked her kids in bed.
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Meanwhile, her husband took the first photo you see in this report from their driveway of the massive train derailment.
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Misti describes to SmartHER News her growing concern as the hours passed – from a sudden shelter in place order, to a strange, sweet smell in the air mixed with smoke from a fire that no matter the amount of water, never stopped burning.
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And the smell only intensified. Saturday night, 24 hours after the derailment, her husband turned off the heat in their car (despite the frigid winter temperatures): "We shouldn't be breathing this in ... something is really wrong."
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The next afternoon, feeling more unease, they left with their young children (a 7-yr-old and a 16-month-old) to Pittsburgh, 45 min. away - even before an evacuation order and more information came to light about the dangerous chemicals carried in the train cars.
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The Allisons stayed away for a week but learned schools would reopen Monday and felt compelled to return.
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Misti still can't shake the feeling that something is really wrong.
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"As a mother, the anxiety is real right now," she says. "They're testing everything and all we're told is 'It's fine.' They’re testing the air – it’s 'fine.' The drinking water is 'fine.' The ground water is 'fine.' It makes me nervous. Are we making the best decision (to be back home)?"
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Misti describes an unusual rash that unexpectedly bloomed on her legs and new respiratory infections amongst family members. She remains calm and measured while recalling the string of events, wondering if this is “causation or correlation” from the derailment. She hopes for more answers at the town’s meeting tonight but finds herself worrying about both short- and long-term effects, for her family and others: “We are a very small community – people care about each other.”

I would not automatically assume that photo is a true representation of the affected area. Photos and video from the New York Times and Reuters show ”plumes” of smoke rather than a flat mass as depicted in the posted photo (from reddit?). Not trying to minimize this disaster—- It’s a deadly serious health hazard and is ruining livelihoods.

I was thinking the same thing as @Kswl. I've seen this photo on Reddit and commentors (and myself) have questioned whether this is really a photo from the train derailment. I have not seen it posted on any credible news sites.

Snopes rates the authenticity of that photo unproven - time will tell...

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/airplane-smoke-clouds-ohio-train-derailment-photo/

this has a little history as to rail regulations:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/02/14/norfolk-southerns-ohio-train-derailment-emblematic-rail-trends/11248956002/

Not sure if this could have been prevented, but perhaps less serious. Of course the rail company lobbied to have the law repealed

I heard the Governor refused FEMA. The Governor has to ask for the help before FEMA steps in.

The satellite photo was taken from space.

Have not read through the comments, not sure what's been said, but to address the first post, I live somewhat near this in NE Ohio and that's all they are talking about on the local news stations. If you go to the local news station website, you can read article after article about it. Local stations include; WFMJ, WYTV and WKBN. Just google search this. I'm thankful we don't live closer but we do have tracks that run though the area and my house isn't very far from tracks. I have seen train cars that looked just like what they looked like in the accident photos sitting on the tracks over here!

Ollie, the first I heard of it was the day it happened on ABC News and NY Times. I took note because my step-son used to live very nearby there. So I wouldn't say it didn't have larger news outlets covering it.

Bluebell, thank you. To be honest, I am hit or miss reading the NYT's as on the whole, they aren't as reliable as they used to be. I guess I should have said it wasn't taken seriously by most. I don't think most Americans knew about the toxic chemicals permeating and destruction in the area until later. Anyway, it was slow coverage in the beginning. And no one mentioned it on here, which was unusual. Until salonva questioned it. But then again, no one to blame here, I didn't mention it either.

pricklypearcactus, I know why it was done, but I still think it wasn't a smart move, and wonder if the situation could have been handled differently.

I would say there's a good chance that photo could be real. The videos I've seen are horrifying; a huge fire, and black smoke shooting up into the atmosphere. I can't help but wonder how far those toxic gases are going to travel, and how are people going to be affected by them for years to come. I read that the EPA has told the residents that it's safe to go back home, but those who have gone back say the air stinks and they're having physical reactions.

While others may have already been aware, I wasn't until I started reading through multiple articles to find out the underlying cause of the derailment. Federal investigators say it was a mechanical failure of one of the train car axles. There was an alert about the failure, though it doesn't seem clear yet where/when the alert happened in relation to the derailment (how soon before).

This article shows a video of the train passing through an earlier section of track in Salem where there were "hot box detectors" on the track that would alert over the radio if a hot axle was detected. This was an hour before the derailment. I don't believe it is clear yet if the alert was sounded in Salem or if one sounded at a later detector.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2023/02/10/east-palestine-train-derailment-video-fire-axle-alert/stories/202302100070

And now we have another derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals. Thank God there was no leak this time.

FWIW, hubby lived in OH for many years and was telling me how this reminded him of when his kids were small(1980s), and he'd already been thinking about moving back to FL, there was a similar derailment and chemical spill, and his street was filled with white smoke. He said authorities were on TV telling people not to worry, everything was fine, while people in hazmat suits could be clearly seen in the background. That clinched it for him and they moved very soon after that. He was in Dayton and said Dow Chemical was located nearby.

Makes me think of that Randy Newman song about the Cuyahoga river burning...

This is a horrible situation...I feel for every person living there. I live 38 miles away in Ohio from the derailment site and wonder if we are even safe. Our local news has had a lot of coverage and agree that not enough help has been given.

Mary, I hope you, and everyone else, are safe.

Mary, are you east or west of derailment? While this is serious, the media isn’t helping. Fanning flames of fear are not helpful. As a retired executive who had emergency responsibilities, once the fear cycle is put out there it is almost impossible to gain control and get solid info out there. You should really have no impacts that far away. As the cloud rises, more and more dilution takes place lessening air problems quite soon. Land and water can be contaminated but EPA should be onsite managing this. Don’t want to minimize effects. The National leaders have not got on top of this quickly enough. Sad politics seems to be impacting everything. No politics allowed when people are being impacted in any case. The stress created by media is probably more detrimental to health than anything. I feel for the people nearby because of the lack of leadership. Actually, the local US House of Rep. was the best spokesperson I have heard on this problem. He was caring, had specific facts, didn’t go beyond what he knew at the time and stated his actions and future actions. Well done. I don’t recall his name.

Saw this on NPR.org today:

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2023-02-17/ohio-gov-mike-dewine-calls-on-congress-to-look-at-rail-safety-following-east-palestine-derailment

They are setting up access to health assessments for residents.

And might that have been Sen. Sherrod Brown, Flo? He is mentioned in the article.

Flo…you are so knowledgeable 😊Thanks for the facts. I am northwest from the site location. As far as the rep you are mentioning I believe it was either Bill Johnson or J D Vance.

Yes, Mary it was Bill Johnson. He handled it beautifully. Often, local reps do a better job than others and they know they will be in the local grocery stores getting questions. Lol

I just read that Snopes link and they changed the photo authenticity from ”unproven” to ”true.” They detailed how they got there.

I'm glad FEMA is finally approved and going there. Crazy that this wasn't done sooner.

@mary44 from what I understand there were a few political reasons FEMA was not called immediately - not political in the L/R way but due to conflicting requirements for different gov't agencies. FEMA usually deals with natural disasters (which this will spark but was not the originating factor) and the site has to be officially declared a disaster before they can step in. DeWine didn't do that even though he says he wanted FEMA there,so a few agencies had to work out a way to help without that declaration. Not sure if that has been officially made at this point. I also heard (on NPR?) that a formal declaration is the trigger for gov't $ and DeWine wants Norfolk Southern on the hook not taxpayers. All of which just delays action and the immediate price to be paid is by the people who live there. Longer term that price will follow the flow of water downstream and to aquifers, show up in the wild food chain and probably in the human food production as well.

DLM2000-GW, some people aren't interested in the facts.

bragu_DSM 5, Senator Brown had to ask Gov. DeWine to declare it a disaster. That was on Feb. 16. DeWine ignored the request from local groups on Feb. 7.

https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/sherrod-brown-calls-governor-dewine-declare-disaster-seek-federal-government-support-derailment-east-palestine

https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230218/joint-statement-ohio-governor-dewine-and-fema-regional-administrator-sivak

'

https://peoplesaction.org/2023/02/regional-groups-demand-gov-dewine-request-federal-aid-in-response-to-tristate-chemical-disaster/

Like it or not, this is the type of outcome anti-regulation, anti 'big gov't ' ideology inevitably leads to.

I understand the railroad company lobbied our transportation secretary over proposed regulations requiring a minimum of 2 operators on trains like this. They objected to it on the grounds it would increase labor costs.

I also understand the initial environmental testing was provided for by the railroad company as well.

And FWIW, something I learned a few years back is that not every freight train actually has a crew running it. Some are automated.

I know if this was happening where I lived, I'd be afraid - even moreso if I had kids. I mean, who wouldn't be? Nobody needs to 'fan' anything. People need full information so they can make good decisions.